My Name is Katie Jackson
by Slidell
Summary: Daniel left the SGC 18 years ago following the deaths of O'Neill and Carter and a fallout with Vala. The only person he has left in the world is his daughter, Katie. But he may lose even her when the evil that took his friends returns. S/J and D/V.
1. Chapter 1

**My Name is Katie Jackson**

**By: Slidell**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate...etc. etc. (In fact I don't own much). This is an outlet for the imagination...as always, my only payment is your reviews. **

**Spoilers: Most Likely, but this is AU future...ish. You'll see. If you've read my other stuff you know what I do and do not like. Saying anything else may give this away. **

**BTW: This came to me when I couldn't sleep the other night because of my birthday excitement. I'm still working on Torn and the Danni stories, and have a lot done, just not quite to publishing stage yet. **

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My name is Katie Jackson.

I haven't had what you'd call a _normal_ life. It's been just me and my dad for as long as I can remember. I never met my mother. Dad's talked about her a few times; mostly when I'm so close to sleep I can't actually remember how much is what he has told me and how much I've made up to appease my own questions as I've drifted off. I've never even seen a picture of her. I try to imagine her though; take the pieces of me that don't match Dad, which are most all of them, and make a face. Dad's got gray hair, but I remember it used to be brown. Mom must have had dirty blond hair like mine, maybe paler. I think I got her eyes too, because they aren't blue like my father's. But I'll never be able to see her.

Mom died when I was born. I think Dad blames me. But he'd never say it if he did. And there are no pictures. Not even of us. Dad doesn't like memories of the living or the recently dead. Only those of peoples who died before our great-great-grandparents were even pondered by ancient philosophers.

If anything he's my best friend. My only friend. We've only ever had each other. At least that's what I thought.

I don't remember America, but that's where we're from. As far back as I can remember I've been living from dig site to dig site, village to village, and in small old towns with no marks on the map. I like it this way. We don't seem to belong anywhere, the two of us. But we belong to each other. Dad's taught me everything he knows. I speak over twenty languages, fluently. It comes in handy with our lifestyle. It makes it easier to move as often as we do. I know the histories of dozens upon dozens of cultures. I even know a little science; mostly astronomy. Dad and I still sit and watch the stars at night, judging the differences in star patterns from place to place, depending on the distance from the equator. I love the night's sky. Dad promised me he'd take me to see the aurora borealis one day.

You'd be surprised at the connections between the stars and ancient cultures, or maybe you wouldn't. Sometimes we run into other archaeologists who are amazed to meet my father. Something about his old theories. Everyone knows there's life….well, out there. Turns out my dad was just one of the people who had proof before the rest of the world. I asked him if that's what we're running from. Dad said, "Katie, we're not running from anything but ourselves."

I still don't know exactly what he meant by that.

I don't think Dad's ever going to take me to see the aurora borealis now. Not after what happened today.

This morning, three men came to the dig site we've been at for three months now. They wanted to speak to my father, but I could tell from their tone that something was wrong. All of them gave me the strangest looks when I told them my name. They were looking for something in my face. But most of all I couldn't figure out why the Air Force of the United States had sent three of its highest ranking officers to the middle-of-nowhere-South America to speak to my Dad (I was even more surprised when he seemed to know one of them). As soon as I led them to the small area we had been at for the day, he shooed me away. He was angry that they had spoken to me and told them not to approach me again. They had only asked to be taken to him, but he wouldn't let me explain. "Katie, go. Now." He warned. I tucked my tail under and fled up the steep incline of ruins.

I listened from around a small crumbled section after I doubled back. I think Dad realized I was there when he heard me whimper. I shouldn't have come back, much less have made my presence know, but you would have whimpered too if you had heard what I did.

The world is ending. And they want my dad to save it.

I couldn't see their faces, but I can only imagine. Dad sighed, and I heard his footsteps growing closer to my position.

"Dr. Jackson! We need you. You're the only one left who can stop this from happening. The world _is_ going to end; for both you and…your daughter."

The man's pause confused me. But Dad took no time to form a reply of his own. "Our world ended eighteen years ago. No one saved us."

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	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

The mist of the high elevation of the remote peaks of South America was beginning to burn away. But there was a stifling humidity that took more than a few hours to become immune to. Colonel Davis was having just such a problem. His hiking gear, composed of non-regulation BDUs, was sticking to his body at every step. He could tell from the expressions possessed by his companions that they were not fairing much better. Of course Daniel Jackson would have hidden himself away in such a far away world; an alien planet on Earth.

The guide called out something in Spanish, and then repeated himself in a slower version of English that translated to the equivalent of, "We're almost there."

"Thank God." Major Russell replied.

Lieutenant Colonel James stopped his elation. "Don't get ahead of yourself Russell. Even if he is here. And even if he does agree to come back with us. And even if…"

"Gentlemen." Colonel Davis broke in. "We must assume that Dr. Jackson will agree. Otherwise, we don't have any other options."

That stopped them. If anything, that one statement brought back the same sinking sense of dread that they had all felt when they heard the news a month prior. News that meant the end for everyone on Earth, and eventually the galaxy, and finally the universe, if they couldn't find a way to stop it.

The guide called out again and they realized that the jungle was beginning to fade away. A few more steps and they broke into a clearing scattered with ruins of stone and flecked with the bright colors of indigenous garments on people working the site. There were a handful of tents on the far side of the area. It was a mysterious place. Perhaps a once plentiful civilization had lived here, but now all that was left were a few tumbled hovels and walls that stretched across the flatter area and then etched their way up a foothill that turned upward into a sky searching cliff.

Colonel Davis turned. "We need to find Dr. Daniel…" The guide however, had already disappeared back into the jungle forest. Russell ran in to seek him out, but the man was so used to the terrain that there was no chance of finding him quickly.

James shook his head and headed for the first person he could find. He ran into an older man with silver locks pulled back into a top knot of sorts. His earlobes extended to the point that they almost touched his shoulders from having been subjected to ritual stretching. James resisted the urge to sing "Do Your Ears Hang Low". Instead he began to ask for Daniel Jackson.

The older man called to another, younger man, nearby and spoke in a language nothing like the Spanish that James, Russell or Davis would have otherwise been privy to. The young man hurried over quickly, conversed with the elder, and then hollered the same language over a greater distance. They distinctly heard the name "Jackson" in the yell. But nonetheless the old man and younger continued to stare at them. Perhaps they were getting nowhere at all.

Five minutes later and they were still standing in the same position, trying to get through to the native people in front of them. "We…Need…To Speak…To Dr. DANIEL…Jack-SON…" James pressed.

The old man replied and then grunted.

"Russell?" James pleaded.

The other officer stepped forward and began to speak in a bellowing tone as well. But he was cut off by an unexpected voice.

"He SAID…he's not deaf, and that screaming isn't going to make him understand your words."

The three Americans all turned their glances swiftly to the person who had come up easily and quietly on their side. A girl. She spoke in a kind tone to the two men standing before them and nodded as they went back to what they had been doing.

"Can I help you?" She questioned as they continued to stare at her.

Russell took the lead. "We need to speak with Jackson."

The girl crossed her arms over her lower rib cage, playing with the leather cuff on her wrist. As she tilted her head there was a small glint from the indention on the left side of her nose and their attention was brought to the tiny gem of a nose ring. Her ears too, were pierced several times, both left and right, and there were a mixture of embellishments from different cultures from around the world, all the way down to a fresh, bright red feather on the right ear. They were made all the more visible by the fact that her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a braid, sections tied together with bright strings and a leather strap at the end (what wasn't obvious was that her father's only rule about what she did to her body was that she not cut her hair short). She could have been on the cover of a National Geographic if it hadn't been for the khaki cargo shorts and t-shirt, and a jacket tied around her waste and covered in dirt smears from where the morning had begun to heat up. She was a pro at this, right down to her worn hiking boots that stretched up her ankles to her tanned and dirtied legs.

"That's me. Are you guys from the embassy or…"

"You're, Jackson?" James broke in.

Davis held up his hand to take his commanding position. "Miss, I'm Colonel Davis with the U.S. Air Force. You said your name was Jackson?"

"Yeah, Katie Jackson. I'm assuming you were looking for Dr. Daniel Jackson though. My dad." She explained.

Davis's eyes bulged and the girl swallowed at his reaction as he studied her features. It was starting to make sense, at least to him. He had heard about her, a long time ago. But things like babies get forgotten in times like the one she was born in.

"Ms. Jackson, we need to speak to, your father."

"We have all the permits…"

"No, Miss, it doesn't have anything to do with his work. At least not the work he does now."

Katie's brow pinched. "I'm sorry, but my dad doesn't talk to people, ever. I'm his middleman, or woman, as it would be. So if you want to tell me what this is about, I could pass on the message."

Colonel Davis took a deep breath. Apparently Dr. Jackson had become even further removed than he or anyone else had anticipated. "Ms. _Jackson_, this is a matter of National Security. I'm only permitted to speak directly to Daniel. Now if he's here, I need you to take me to him, now." His 'officer voice' made her take a step back and shrink a few inches.

"He's this way." She indicated with her hand and began to lead them towards the rocky outcrop of ruins on the foothill.

Davis cast a glance back at his companions and they followed.

No one spoke until they came to an excavation site. "Please watch where you step, these artifacts have been buried for thousands of years."

That was very Daniel of her, Davis noted.

A few minutes later they had followed the girl through a maze of ruins and underbrush, her agility making them all jealous as they tripped countless times. They almost ran into her when she stopped. A gray headed man was crouched a few feet ahead of her, studying what looked to be a burial site.

"Dad?"

"What is it Katie?"

Davis let out a small breath of relief when he heard the voice. At least they had found him.

"Um, these guys are from the Air Force. They say they have to talk directly to you."

There was no response, but Daniel's posture grew more ridged.

"Dad?"

"Dr. Jackson, we don't really have much time. If we could just talk to you for a minute…"

"Hello Major Davis." The archeologist replied as his daughter's eyes grew wide with shock.

"Actually it's Colonel now." He took another step forward. "Daniel, we have to talk."

Katie's eyes were searching back and forth. How could her father know this man?

Daniel grabbed the earth near him and pushed up from the ground with a bit of effort. He turned, his blue eyes faded, towards Davis with a less than pleasant smile. "As I recall, last time I asked to talk, you guys said no. So, I think I'll say the same. Watch your step on the way out."

Russell growled under his breath. "That's what this is all about."

Davis shot him a angry gaze.

Daniel looked skeptical.

"Dad, I'm sorry, they said they had to…"

"Katie, you can go back to your work." The man's cold tone towards his daughter had to have been uncommon based on her reaction.

"Dad…"

"Katie, go. Now." He ordered. And the two subordinates watched her hurry off and disappear. They didn't see what Davis saw in her face and pressence.

When he was sure she was out of ear shot, Daniel spoke again. "What's going on Davis?"

"It's been reopened."

"Like last time?"

"No. This time, it opened on its own."

"That's impossible." Daniel replied and reached down for a canteen.

"Apparently it's not." James snorted. He recoiled at the older man's stare. For an archeologist, this guy could command a presence.

"Even if it could open on its own, there is no way to close it. Not unless you plan on doing the same thing as last time." Daniel took a long swig. "Of course, we all know how well that worked out!" He gave a sarcastic toast.

"Daniel, please. It's worse this time. It's already spreading."

"I warned you. WE, warned everybody. No one listened."

Davis saw a bright flash of red duck behind a ruin wall. It was wrong for her to hear, he knew it. But perhaps this was his only way to get to Dr. Jackson. "It's going to spread. This is going to make everything else that's ever happened, the Goa'uld, the Ori, the Wraith…look like monsters under the bed compared to the Devil."

"Been practicing with speeches Davis? You always were good with words." Daniel chided.

"Cut the crap Jackson." Davis barked. "People screwed up. I get that, you get that. It's done. But what happened before wasn't even a whisper compared to what this thing can do. And what it will do. People are going to die. They aren't going to get better. They are going to writhe and beg and scream until they've suffered so much they won't even know that Death has taken them!"

The tiniest whimper could be heard not too far away. Daniel's eyes closed, and his fingers ran beneath the nose pads of his glasses before he looked in the direction it had come from. He turned from Davis and began to walk away without another word. Making it known he wanted to hear no more.

"Dr. Jackson! We need you. You're the only one left who can stop this from happening. The world _is_ going to end; for both you and…your daughter."

Daniel stopped walking. "Our world ended eighteen years ago. No one saved us."

Davis motioned to his men to lead the way out. They waited in the tree line from which they had entered.

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Daniel appeared an hour later.

"Three conditions." He said, never making eye contact with the men sitting at his feet. He didn't give anyone a chance to answer. "One, I'm in charge. I don't want the same thing happening this time as last. Two, my daughter comes with me, no questions. And three, no one talks to her. Am I understood?"

Davis stood. "Dr. Jackson, people are going to realize that…"

Daniel's nose flared. "If one person opens their mouth about her mother, or gives her the slightest notion of anything that happened, I'll quit. I don't care what happens. She doesn't need to know unless _I_ tell her. Now I'm going to ask for the last time, am I understood?"

"Understood."

**Thank you for the reviews and alerts! Hope you like. Reviews are like fish food at the edge of a pond...the fish want the food, all you have to do is push it in. Could you push some fish food into my pond?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Daniel walked quietly across the site grounds. He hadn't looked up from his feet but he could tell instinctively that his daughter was near. He owed her an explanation, but he knew she wouldn't ask outright all the questions that were floating through her mind. That was his fault. She used to be so much more like him, the old him, full of questions that she wasn't afraid to ask. But Daniel knew deep down that his own demeanor had shaped her into the often silent and seemingly depressed creature who sat crouched over a small pile of rubble, unaware of his presence. She seemed to live in that world within herself more than the one around her lately. Daniel winced, knowing that he should have taught her to be more alert and less trusting that he would always be there to protect her; even though he had been.

"Katie."

The girl stopped digging with her trowel and placed it on the ground tentatively. "Yeah?"

"You need to secure your site. Pack your things. We're leaving in the morning." Her head spun back and she shot up from her seated position.

"Why?"

Daniel never missed a beat. "Because I said so. Now get started please. I want you to explain to the workers that we'll be gone for an uncertain amount of time and that they may return to their homes. But ask them to keep an eye out for grave robbers or other such issues."

"But Dad…"

"Katie." Daniel peered over his glasses. "I'll explain over dinner. Just do what I ask okay?"

Katie licked her lips and chewed on the bottom one for a moment. "Yeah, alright."

Daniel walked away after she began her nervous ritual of rubbing her hands clean on her shorts. He heard her mutter in what sounded like Russian under her breath just before the trowel clanked on stone after she kicked it away. He prayed he was doing the right thing. He'd been keeping her away from their past for eighteen years, and now he was leading them both back into it, head on.

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That night a small number of the workers who still remained prepared the evening meal. They, along with Daniel and his daughter, sat around the fire by the tents. As the food was being passed out, Russell approached.

"Would it be alright if we joined you?"

Daniel didn't answer, but when Katie turned towards him for an answer he motioned for the officer to be seated across the fire. James was close behind. Davis, it seemed, would not be joining them.

"Thank you."

"What's the matter Russell? MREs not what they used to be?" Daniel questioned before putting a piece of meat from an unidentified mammal in his mouth and chewing.

"Come on Dr. Jackson, you can't tell me you ever really got used to those things."

Katie leaned towards her father. "Dad, when were you eating MREs?" She knew what they were because they had passed them out to refugees before, but neither of them had ever eaten them unless there was enough to go around. There was no reason for this Air Force officer to be referring to Daniel eating MREs like it had been a regular occurrence.

"It was a long time ago, Katie. Before you were born." Daniel threw the small bone he had picked clean into his metal camping plate with a loud clatter and then tossed it down to the dirt.

Katie studied Daniel for a moment, and then looked over the top licks of the fire flames. "Why does the U.S. military want my dad? Did he work for you guys or something?"

James and Russell exchanged a glance and then looked towards the man who had told them saying anything would negate the deal.

Daniel's tone was hushed. "Why are you asking a complete stranger about me when I'm sitting right here?"

"Maybe because you never talk about anything that happened before I was born." She huffed. "I have a right to know don't I?"

"Yes. But not now."

"You said you'd explain over dinner."

"That was before I knew we'd have guests." Daniel nodded his head in their general direction and widened his eyes for support of his statement.

Katie shook her head but complied. The meal continued in relative silence, only the chatter of the native language mingled with the cracks and pops of the fire. One of the women got up and took Katie and Daniel's plates and posed what seemed to be a question. Katie thanked the woman and added a thank you. Both Air Force officers, who were preferring to enjoy their meal rather than ask what it was made of, rose curious stares again at the girl's fluid language skills.

It was James who forgot the rule. "So, Ms. Jackson, exactly how many languages do you speak?"

Daniel gave a perturbed stare, but didn't hinder the conversation. James fought back a cringe at the death stare though, but Katie didn't notice and replied.

"Um…about twenty-seven I think." The men both looked back unconvinced so she began to list them, Daniel nodding in agreement to each one. "English, Latin, Spanish, French, Ancient Egyptian, Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, German, Russian, Portuguese, Mayan and a whole slew of native languages like the one you've encountered here."

"Wow. I had a hard enough time passing Spanish back in college." Russell stuttered. Katie hid the sadness in her eyes at his remark. She would have loved to have gone to college. But she couldn't leave her father on his own. More than that, he probably wouldn't have allowed it. Either way, she had learned more than she could at college from her years with him.

"Well, I mean, immersion is the best method. And I've been…well immersed."

James looked towards Daniel who rolled his eyes in submission. The subject was acceptable. "Details?"

"Well, we've lived in South America…obviously, Egypt, Russia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, England, Scotland, Kenya, Uganda, India…and so on."

Russell began to laugh to Katie's surprise. "Well, I think we at least have you beat on that one. I mean between us, James and I have been to at least a hundred different pla…"

"STOP!" Daniel's order was so frighteningly sudden and loud that the natives all began to pack their things away and leave while Katie and the two officers just stared at him. "That's enough. I told you not to say anything to her!" He pointed an angry finger as he stood, then leaned down and took Katie gently by the upper arm. "I want you to go to bed. Now. And no eaves dropping this time."

Katie replied with a hasty nod before scurrying off to her tent.

"Look, Dr. Jackson, it was an accident…I mean, we thought she at least knew something about…"

"Don't assume to know anything. That's what got us into this mess in the first place." Daniel chastised.

"What's going on? Russell, James?" Davis had appeared, trading his day look for a night one that was simply removing his over shirt.

Daniel didn't need to explain so much as warn. "She doesn't know what it is I used to do, nor what anyone does. She doesn't know any more than the rest of the world, and even that I've kept her safe from. I realize idol chat may be hard to avoid, but if anyone even starts to open their mouth about _that_ again, and I swear on all that is left in me, I'll let this world end without a second thought. It's my place to tell her and no one else's."

"Colonel, we were just…"

"Heading to your tents." Colonel Davis finished the explanation for them. They both gathered themselves quickly and headed off. Davis turned to Daniel who now stood, arms crossed once more. "I'm sorry Daniel, it won't happen again. You have my word." He gave a small bow with a thin lipped awkward smile and began to walk away.

"You've figured it out haven't you?" Daniel called after him, never taking his gaze off of the dying flames.

Davis took a deep breath. "It was kind of hard not to."

"She looks…just like her. Doesn't she? I used to think it was just me wishing, or hoping for some trace of her to still be there…but she really does look just like her." Somehow it was easier for Daniel to open up to this man he had known in another life than he thought it would be. Of course, he was mostly talking to himself.

"Almost." Davis's reply made him realize what he had just asked. "There are one or two _differences_." Daniel took his glasses off and closed his eyes. Davis pressed on. "You realize if I saw it that plainly, everyone who's still there is going to realize it too. It's just a matter of time. You know that right?"

"Just as long as everyone sticks to the deal. I don't care how obvious it is to them. But she doesn't need to know yet. I'm not ready to tell her."

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The hike out had begun before the sunlight began to break through the branches. Katie's every possession was in her pack. She and Daniel didn't have much they held dear in the form of material things. They had each other, and that was enough. No one talked much. The officers spoke to each other. Daniel and Katie made a few oral notes about their discoveries. But for the most part, aside from sharing the same path, the two parties shared little else, including conversation.

Katie was stunned to see a helicopter waiting at the first cleared village sight they came to.

"Oh yeah. You guys always have the best connections." Daniel remarked before leading Katie ahead to make sure that she was in the safest seat possible.

Russell could overhear the father and daughter as they hustled into the aircraft. He couldn't tell what they were saying though, it sounded like Greek.

_"Dad, when are you going to tell me what's going on?" _

_"I'll explain when we get there."_

_"Not even a heads up? I kind of caught the part where you worked for the military."_

_"Not so much FOR as WITH. I promise you, I'll explain it all when we get there. But I'd rather not have the audience. Okay?"_

_"I'm holding you to it Dad. I've never kept secrets from you. And I didn't think you had kept any from me either." _

The girl's warning gaze said enough. Whatever they had been talking about could very well cause a rift if it wasn't settled soon enough.

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The helicopter took the small group to the closest thing to a secure airport as could be found, but they had a hard time blending in with the tourists heading back to the states from their sabbaticals, college jaunts, and honeymoons; all things that would soon cease to occur if their mission failed.

But most of all, young Katie stuck out more than the rest. No one noticed the three military men seated with perfect posture in their seats, but the girl across the aisle from them was quite the sight. She was beautiful, enough so that it would have drawn at least a few glances here and there, but her adornments seemed to be at the top of several conversations. Plus she hadn't had time to change from her hike attire, not that she had anything appropriate for a plane ride, much less normal American situations.

Katie shrank down in her seat, but she could still feel wondering eyes. She leaned to her right. "Dad." Daniel was out like a light. "Dad!" she hissed and elbowed him at the same time.

"Wha…what? I'm up, what's wrong?"

"Switch seats with me." She whispered.

"What?" Daniel's pinched face would have been amusing but she wasn't in the mood.

"People keep looking at me, it's making me nervous, let me sit by the window."

Daniel looked up and caught a few stray pairs of eyes. He glowered back at them and they turned away. But seeing that Katie was still uncomfortable he eased up and allowed her to take his seat as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Thanks."

Daniel turned to her with his lips slightly upturned. "Maybe if you took out some of the earrings…or the hair stuff…"

Katie narrowed her eyes but still smirked back. "I may take a few out when we get there. Is everyone going to look at me funny? I mean it's one thing to meet people from a culture who have never seen people like…well us, but, I was born in America…we're American…I shouldn't stick out so much maybe…"

Daniel just reached his hand up and rubbed her back below her neck to calm her down. "Don't worry little girl. You're Dad's going to take care of you. And besides…" He withdrew his hand and sighed. "We're not exactly going to be in public."

Katie opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out, instead she shifted back into the seat, drew up her legs and turned towards the window to observe the land dashing away below. It was so beautiful from the air.

* * *

When they finally made it into military hands and across the states, Katie realized what Daniel had meant.

"Dad…what's with the mountain?"

Davis stood tall. "Welcome to Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base." He then motioned for them to follow to the opening.

Daniel snaked his fingers around Katie's. "It's okay. Come on. We're almost to that explanation you've been after."

**A/N: Thanks for the R&R!! Reviews...more...please? :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The elevator was cramped and musty; and someone was wearing Old Spice. Katie spent the trip down between the steel wall and her father's side, continuing to watch as the levels flashed in digital red, deeper and deeper into the mountain. A man who had been waiting for them at the entrance was rattling off words that she had yet to catch. Something about "national security" and the more foreboding "military court" that would decide her fate if she was not to comply. But still, the numbers on the digital read were more interesting and she only realized that this new man was looking for an answer when Daniel swiftly nudged her shoulder. She hadn't been anywhere near paying attention and lost her balance, gripping the elevator wall with a slapping hand movement at just the last second before she could be sent tumbling into the corner.

Daniel narrowed his gaze with a raised brow as she steadied herself.

"Um, sorry, could you repeat that last part please?"

"Do you understand these rules as stated under the supervision of Colonel Davis and myself?" He was staring at her again, this time her jewelry.

Katie looked between the two men, and then to Daniel who sent her a silent message to accept through his eyes.

"Yes." She stated blankly.

The man, in a suit of all things, handed her the clipboard with the papers he had read from and a pen. Katie gripped the writing instrument tightly, allowing it to hover an inch over the 'X' marked line.

"Full _legal_ name please."

Katie was so busy concentrating on the tiny dotted line that she didn't see the angry flash that Daniel gave the suit. The man went to protest but Daniel shook his head, silencing him.

The pen jotted off the most delicate and intricate script: _Katherine Samantha Jackson_.

As if the reading had been timed to the second, as soon as Katie handed the clipboard back to the man, the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened.

"Follow me." The business man replied. She hadn't caught his name at the entrance, and wasn't about to ask for it.

Daniel shook his head at the man's lack of common sense. Daniel had worked in this very mountain for over a decade, he knew where they were going. And then he remembered the blonde following at his side. She had never had to make this trip before. She had only ever taken the exit.

When they got to the next elevator, Katie looked puzzled. Daniel tried to relax her with a gentle smile. "The first elevator is for the upper half of the facility. It takes this second one to get to where we're going." He explained. "It's much deeper."

"Are you trying to say you worked in Hell?" Katie replied with a hint of humor, and she could tell that Davis's two men, who were with them as well, were holding back snickers.

She could barely hear Daniel's reply as they stepped into the final leg of their journey down. "Sometimes it felt like it." Her smile faded.

After Daniel's odd remark upon entering the elevator, Katie found it best not to speak, and she quietly pondered what on earth could have possibly kept her father in the bowels of a mountain when she knew his heart truly lied in exploration and discovery. What could one possibly discover inside a mountain? Perhaps, the truth.

The elevator stopped, not at the deepest level from the looks of the button options, but close enough. The doors slid open and the man in the suit stepped out first, followed by Daniel and Katie, and finally the military officers. "Welcome, to Stargate Command."

"Stargate?" Katie mouthed towards Daniel. His face was full of nostalgia, and he gave a quick nod in reply.

"It was very nice to meet you Miss Jackson." Russell offered a hand, and Katie shook it gently in return.

"You too."

"Same here." James added and shook her hand as well. The two men then dismissed themselves.

"I need to report to the General, if you three could wait in the briefing room, he should be there shortly." The man in the suit turned swiftly on his heels and headed off to a small concrete stairwell that Katie wished she could inspect further. There were a number of people bustling around. And from the nervous energy she could feel radiating from them, something was wrong.

"The 'General'?" Daniel queried Davis.

The deep breath the man took was a fair warning to Daniel that something was about to be said that would upset his calm further. "That would be General Mitchell, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel's eyebrows rose above his glass rims before he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in for clarification. "Cam…Mitchell?"

"One in the same."

"Paul, I think you could have mentioned this earlier." Daniel had never been keen on the military reservations about titles or names, but his turn about with this Colonel Davis made Katie back up a few steps as she studied the tension that was growing once more. But this time it was different. Something about her father was changing, right before her eyes. He wasn't quite the same somehow, as if a part of him was awakening for the first time in years.

"Well, in all honesty, he hasn't been here that long." Davis remarked before walking away. Daniel followed shortly behind. But Katie was just curious enough to head to the small concrete staircase that led up to the hustle and bustle she wanted to know more about…it looked like a hub of some sort.

But as soon as her foot began to hover over the first step, a hand grabbed her elbow. "No you don't." She rolled her eyes at her father as he put his hand on her back to have her follow Davis up a separate stairwell to a room above the one that had drawn her interest.

Now she was stuck between a very intense conversation that she was very out of the loop on. Davis was speaking over her head as Daniel came up the stairs behind her.

"How long has Mitchell been here?" Daniel pressed.

"For about a year now. He came in a few months before things heated up again."

"There's timing." Daniel grunted as they reached the top of the stairs and found themselves in a room with a large wooden table surrounded by a number of well worn leather chairs and a glass window that showed nothing but a steel wall. An office was attached to the other side of the room, but it was at an odd angle compared to where Katie stood and she could make out only the back of the man in the suit. "And he knows I'm…we're here?"

"He's the one who requested your presence."

"Both of us?" Daniel turned to Katie with an anxious fear. She seemed to be losing some of her tan already in the deep.

"No." The steeliness of the gaze from Davis's eyes and the stone tenor in his voice said enough. This General Mitchell knew Daniel, but Katie was going to be a surprise, in one way or another.

The tell tale whine of a metal door opening alerted them to the entrance of another person. The man in the suit quickly retreated back down the stairs. Before the door could shut, a man in service blues, minus the jacket, stepped out of the small office and headed towards the two men who now blocked Katie from sight.

"Jackson! What's this I hear about you having a daugh…" Mitchell stopped dead in his tracks. The last step he took gave him a clear view between Daniel and Colonel Davis, and right into the face of a tall dirty blond headed girl who stared at him with wide eyes. "Oh. My. God."

"Mitchell." Daniel greeted, but the man never even flinched in his direction.

"Is that…"

"Yes." Daniel stated boldly. "This." He reached out for Katie to summon her forward and stood behind her with a hand on each arm. "This is my daughter, Katie. Katie, I'd like you to meet Cameron Mitchell. He and I worked together for a couple of years before you were born."

"Mr. Mitchell." Katie greeted.

"General." Daniel corrected, never taking his stare off of Cam.

"Sorry." Katie whispered with a scrunched up nose.

"Daniel…" Cam's hand was raised, hovering in the air with the most bewildered stare anyone could muster. "She's supposed to be…"

"Here with me." Daniel interjected, shaking his head behind Katie whom he had obviously placed in front of him so that he could do so without arising any more suspicion.

But nevertheless, Katie could tell from the look in the man's eyes that it wasn't her unusual fashion sense that was drawing his gaze, it was her. She could feel his eyes grazing over her bone structure, her hair, and her eyes, piecing her together like a puzzle.

"Katie, are you ready to hear what it is I used to do here?"

A sigh of relief was emitted from the girl. "Yes! Please."

"Well, maybe this would make it easier." Daniel looked to Mitchell. "Could we open the window now? I think it will make things go a lot faster."

Mitchell's eyes were still wide, but he nodded in agreement. He and Daniel were going to have a very detailed conversation soon enough; without the ears that were apparently not supposed to hear. "Walter!" He barked into an ear piece that none had noticed at first. Daniel was getting used to such things quickly as the images came back to him, but Katie hadn't seen such sophisticated technology as far as she could remember. One of the hazards of growing up in forgotten lands.

"Walter's still here?" Daniel sounded surprised.

"What can I say? Man's good at his job." Mitchell replied as he tilted his head and gained a response. "Yeah, I need you to open the blast door. Let a little light into this briefing room would ya?" He nodded as if the person he was speaking to was in the room. "Thank you."

A steady growl began to grow, and the wall of steel outside the window began to move. Katie stepped towards it instinctively and Daniel followed to stand at her side. The steel soon disappeared, and Katie was left open mouthed with curiosity at the strange artifact that stood in the cavernous room below. It was surreal. So large, so strange. It was like nothing she had seen before.

"Wha…"

"_That_, is the Stargate." Daniel explained.

"What does it do?" Her eyes were still fixed on the device.

"Why don't you have a seat, and I'll explain it to you?" Daniel ushered her to the table, but she was reluctant to lose sight of the great ring. "I bet General Mitchell may even be able to help fill in some of the gaps…within reason." The last bit was a warning. Mitchell knew that he wasn't going to be saying much. He was okay with that for now though. At this moment he was busy studying the girl.

* * *

The description of his former life, at least what he used to do and the function of the Stargate, had taken longer than Daniel expected. Mostly because Katie kept making a face like a fish gasping for air.

"Katie?"

"Yeah?" She peeped.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are you serious though? You've gone through that thing, to alien worlds!?"

"Well, it's not exactly _on_ at the moment." Mitchell added. She looked at him quickly and then back to Daniel.

"Why didn't you ever say anything before?"

"I didn't know how to tell you." Daniel admitted. "There are a lot of questions that would have come up that I just wouldn't have been able to answer."

Katie shook her head. "I need to lie down."

"I think that would be a good idea." Daniel nodded to Davis. "Colonel Davis will show you to a room so you can get a nap in okay?" Katie nodded and stood, taking another good look at the 'gate. "I'll come check on you in a bit. I just need to talk to Cam for a bit." She nodded some more and followed Davis out in silence.

Daniel and Cam stared at each other for what seemed like ages.

"I thought she was dead."

"Who?" Daniel feigned innocence.

"I was told the baby died." Mitchell was angry, but open for an explanation.

"That's what everyone was supposed to have been told. Only three people know what really happened, knew. We wanted to tell you, but with everything that happened...I'm sorry Cameron, but it was impossible."

"Daniel…this is not something you can just…"

"What?" Daniel snapped.

"Damn it…Jackson." Cam got up from his seat with great haste and threw his hand on his forehead before waving it towards the stairs. "I just watched Sam Carter walk out of this room, accept the kicker is, she died eighteen years ago…giving birth; TO HER!"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your lovely reviews! I don't know why I came up with this one, but I did, lol.**

**Apparently I missed a metaphor last time, so this chapter you get two: Reviews are like friends, you can never have enough. Also, reviews are like jackets on a cool autumn night…you can live without them, but you're much happier if you don't have to. :D**

**Please Review!!!**


	5. Katie's Thoughts

_Oh God. I don't think I can handle this._

Those are the first words that go through my head as the metal door clanks shut behind me. Colonel Davis has said something to me, some farewell maybe, just before he closed it. I wasn't listening. In fact, I don't think I've heard a word anyone has said since I left the 'debriefing' room. Were there two men out there or just the one?

My legs have never felt this way before. It's like they're turning into ooze, starting at my knees and working up and down until the world around me begins to spin. I think I may throw up.

The bed isn't far away. I take a few steps. I'm so freaked out I can't even count that high; even though I know it's no more than my fingers could mark. Two feet away I let go. My elbows catch the bed and I slide forward the rest of the way, pulling my knees up under and twisting around so that I'm sitting Indian style. I'm facing the door again. It looks like it belongs there. A strange cold thing, staring back at me, locking me out…or better yet, locking me in.

What's going on? I start to hyperventilate. Where's my dad? I need him. He makes this feeling go away. It's never been like this before.

"Dad?"

Did I really just say that out loud?

_Stupid_. I reprimand myself. He's still back there…in that room that I couldn't find if I wanted to. I'm lost. So lost.

Still, I wish he was here. I want to be eight years old again. I want to crawl in his lap and hide my face in his chest while he tells me fairytales to make me feel safe, to make me feel at home when I've never had one. At least not a real one. Dad is my home. I need my home. I'm homesick.

What the hell is going on?

_Think Katie_.

Aliens. Yeah, got that. Okay, so aliens are real…knew that already, no surprise. The surprise is…we've met them. Well, 'we' haven't met them. But Dad has. In fact, he's met hundreds, thousands of them. He takes one step through a giant alien piece of technology and winds up light years away. No wonder he hates his peers. They never believed him. He's kept this secret from everyone. From me. Especially from me.

At this thought I'm angry. I would never have told anyone. I've told him everything. He's lying to me.

Maybe the Stargate isn't what he was trying to hide though. Maybe there's something else. Something attached to the Stargate. Dad knows I'm good at puzzles. I solve ancient ones all the time. Give me a foreign language, long dead, I'll figure it out. Give me a pattern to finish, done. But I don't have the pieces I need. Maybe just a few end pieces. You know how when you put a puzzle together the first thing you do is find the edges? And the most important pieces of the edges are the corners. There's only four of them. Four pieces. At best, I've got one. Dad.

Think Katie. Don't freak out. Think.

I take a deep breath. It comes out ragged.

I take another breath and hold it in. This time it isn't so bad when I finally let go. It doesn't hurt, in fact, I don't feel it. My throat isn't so tight. My stomach isn't doing that thing where I could swear a fish is swimming in it. Something catches my eye.

I turn away to what I see. Me. There's a mirror on the bureau to my side. I've never stood in front of one this big. At least not since I've been grown. We stayed at a fancy hotel in, where was it, Russia? No. France. Definitely France. I was twelve. No figure. And now I see myself. I edge off the bed and walk towards the mirror. Here's me.

I stare for a good moment. I study everything. What if I'm one of the pieces? No. I was born when Dad…wait, when was I born? I mean, in comparison to all of this. Was my father here? Working here?

Better yet…was my mother?

Oh my God! That's it. That's what this is all about.

Mom.

She worked here.

That explains it.

Why Dad's acting all uptight.

The warnings.

The stares…

And now I'm staring. I'm looking in the mirror at a grown woman I've never really seen before, and instead of looking at myself, I'm seeing her. My mother is here, and for the first time I see her. She isn't smiling. She's scared out of her mind.

I pull the tether away from my hair and comb out the braid with my fingers. Her blonde hair falls in her face as I watch. It sweeps around her cheekbones. Her lips are tight with frustration…concern…sorrow.

They were looking at her. They were looking at my mother. Of course she worked here.

Davis knew. He looked at me like that. And this Mitchell guy too. He knew before he could know that he knew.

And my father's a liar.

No. I shake the thought from my head. My fingers grasp around my face and I pull them down, leaving a trail of white scratches that slowly subside to pink. I lean to the mirror again.

There were two men in the hall. Davis…and…damn, I can't remember his name. He was short though. Shorter than me, which isn't hard, but still. And his hair was thin, short cropped…white. He wore glasses but I can't think of his name. His face told me more than anything and I wasn't even listening. His lips were moving, he was talking to himself. He knows her. They all do, but he was about to say it. That's why it was so quiet in the halls. That's how I was able to get to this room in my own little world.

Why the hell wasn't I listening?

What did he say? Come on Katie, think. See the place. Be there. You do this all the time.

The mirror fades away, the bed…the room is gone. We were walking down the stairs, out of the room. The smaller man walked up to us. His jaw dropped so far down I thought it would fall off of his face. Davis shot him a look like I had never seen before. It stopped him. Davis asked him if there were quarters available. He said they were…for who?

I readjust my stance. I go back. I see it, feel it, hear it.

We're walking, and my eyes are on that cold gray floor. The smaller man is talking. "Oh, by the way Colonel, Ms. Carter's things are being brought down now. They should be in her room in no time."

This was when I had kept walking on my own, I remember it now, Davis had stopped and suddenly the little man was rigid from some silent communication…but why? They shrugged it off. They were trying to see if I had heard. I hadn't. Good thing they don't know about my special little talent of remembering everything around me, even if I wasn't paying attention at the time.

I startle myself with a gasp as I come back to reality and look in the mirror.

Ms. _Carter_.

I have a name. Not my name. No. But the man who I can tell has known my mother just called me that name.

I have a name. Now I need a face. I put my hands on the bureau. I stare at it. I need a face to go with a name. A woman who died eighteen years ago. My mother. Carter. And all I know for a fact as that she must have looked just like me, right down to my brown eyes that I couldn't have possibly gotten from my blue-eyed father.

Who lied to me.

_Stop it!_ I scream at myself once more and pray that no one outside the door heard me. I'm not doing this. Not now. No, I'll ask him. He hasn't really _lied_ yet. He just hid the truth. That's not the same thing is it? I mean he didn't sit there and tell me one thing and then mean another. He just _didn't_ say anything at all.

Liar.

But he's my Dad. He's all I've got. No matter what I find out about this woman who just happened to give birth to me…and love me to die doing so…it doesn't matter. She's dead. What could I possibly learn that would change anything about that? I have one parent. One piece of my family.

My Dad.

The man who would understand my need for answers more than anyone. It's his fault. He's the one who taught me to dig. And that's what I'm going to do. And if I happen _not_ to tell him that's what I'm doing, that doesn't make me a liar. Not by his definition. Besides, he's apparently been doing that to me for my entire life.

What could possibly be so _damn_ important that he would do that?

I sigh again. The mirror is still showing me a woman I don't know. Make that two women. I don't think I'll ever truly know myself unless I figure this out. The bed in the image before me looks inviting. I'm tired…in so many ways. I think I'll take that nap now. One last calm before the storm.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter is already in the works. I would just like to take this time to thank my sgbfff Madaline7 for all her help. She sat up with me, through emails and IMs to get this chapter to work. THANKS MADA!!!!!!!! LUV YA!!!!!!!!!**

**Thanks for reading, and remember…reviews are like fortune cookies…people tend to take them to heart :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

She looked positively helpless lying there, curled up in a bundle under the hotel quality blankets. A sad smile crossed Daniel's lips when he thought about how long it had been since she slept on a real mattress; too long. It had all been his fault. He had taken her so far away from the world. But Katie, his Katie, his little girl had to be kept safe. No one could do a better job of that than him. At least no one left on Earth.

Daniel took a seat on the edge of the bed, and Katie's body automatically adjusted itself to the shift. It shouldn't be very hard to wake her. His short talk with Mitchell had turned into a three hour discussion and a game of 'gate tag to find someone both agreed they needed. Thank God Mitchell had already completed the majority of the hard part, long before the threat to the universe had awoken. Sheer nostalgia had urged him on this quest. And now the leader of the Free Jaffa, what was left of them, would soon be on his way; one more piece of the puzzle, one more explanation to give Katie. But the thought that haunted Daniel was that it was one step closer to possibly losing her.

Instinctively, Daniel reached out a hand and ran his fingers through her hair. She had taken it down recently, and the crimps and curls from her braid were still vibrantly evident. A somber smile played at his lips as he remembered learning how to raise a daughter by himself. Braiding hair had been just as challenging as teaching the more intricate details of life. But he had accomplished each of the major stepping points of parenthood. And more than that, he had done so with love and affection that he had lost from so many other corners of his life. Katie had kept him whole. Without her, there wouldn't be anything of Daniel Jackson left. Not after what had left them alone in the world, with nothing more than their small woven family to fall back on. And now the seams were beginning to show in the delicate fabric he had woven. Would they hold when the universe began to tug at them?

Daniel's finger caught a small tangle, just enough of a pull to awaken Katie. She took in a deep breath, her eyes trying to focus on the room around her. Slowly she turned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Hey." She managed to whisper, still not completely awake.

"Good morning." Katie couldn't help but give him a small complacent grin. No matter the thoughts that were still fresh in her mind.

"Morning? Already?"

"Yep. And as you know, the best way to get used to a new time zone is…"

"To start with a fresh new morning." Katie shook her head and beamed. God she looked just like her mother. Daniel put his palm on her cheek.

"That's my girl." _Mine,_ He reminded himself. "Okay, well…I doubt the food here has gotten much better, but you need to eat something. Breakfast is served." Daniel stood and held out his elbow.

Katie crawled out of the bed. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her trip attire. Shorts and a long-sleeved shirt. She started running her fingers through her hair quickly, not really caring how it fell, just that it looked slightly kempt. She started to take Daniel's arm to play along in his corny charade, designed to ease her anxieties, but stopped.

"Wait. Maybe I should get rid of some of…these…" She started to reach for her ears, but Daniel caught her hands.

"You don't need to change. Not for anyone." His tone was completely serious, and somehow serene. Like it was the first thing he'd been sure of in a long time.

Katie wasn't certain just how to respond; so she nodded.

Together they made it to the commissary. Daniel was surprised at how easily the path came to him. So many years. No matter how long he had been gone. Those years and their accompanying memories were hard to escape from.

Katie had come down to picking at the last half of her food, plowing through it with the fork and making little Zen gardens in her oatmeal, when Daniel decided to open the floor to conversation.

"Are you okay? With everything that's going on?"

Katie was shaken out of her thoughts; ones that Daniel could tell she was trying to hide. "Huh…well, yeah I guess. I mean, considering." She shrugged and glanced around the room. Military personnel, scientists, it was not their usual crowd. Especially not with so many uniforms, everyone looked the same and it was unnerving. Not to mention the threat of the world ending, but she wasn't going to mention that.

Daniel sighed and glanced around so that she knew he understood before continuing. "I know what you mean. But if any time you feel uncomfortable, or if anyone says anything at all to upset you, just tell me. I'll take care of it, and we'll go home."

"Home?" Katie's brow lifted and her gaze was dripping with sarcasm.

Daniel tilted his head and rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Home is where the heart is?" Katie offered.

Daniel just smiled.

"Guess we're already home then, huh Dad?"

The words stuck Daniel so sharply that he forgot to breath. If she only knew. He held his composure though. "Sure are sweetheart. Sure are." _Closer to home than you'll ever know._

"You didn't actually wear a uniform like these people when you worked here did you?" Katie was quick to change the subject when her curiosity was piqued.

Daniel grimaced. "Kinda came with the job."

"_I'm _not going to have to wear one am I?" She was thoroughly mortified at the very thought.

Daniel laughed so loudly that a few unknown faces turned towards the table. "No. No, I don't think that's going to happen, though you may want to change into something else some time today." The very thought of Katie in BDUs tickled him so completely until he actually pictured it. Suddenly Sam Carter was sitting right in front of him and his world was turning upside down over and over again as it had begun to do only a few days ago. Accept Sam Carter would never sit with him again, and she wasn't the only one who wouldn't.

"Dad? You okay? You're staring…"

Daniel blinked one harsh time and came back to a conscious state. "Yeah, fine. I just…was thinking…"

_About her._ Katie thought. She was about to ask, insinuate it even…but Daniel's mind worked so fast it was hard to take advantage of the few times he let down his guard.

"Katie, someone is coming today. I'm not sure exactly when, but I'd like you to meet him when he gets here."

The girl wiped her mouth with a napkin and placed it on the table before pushing her eating utensils and dish away from her area and leaning forward on her forearms. "I'm always up for meeting new people." She started. "Another military guy?"

"Not exactly. He was military, just not…the kind you've met so far."

"Okay, now I just have to know." Katie's eyes hadn't been that wide since they'd left South America. It made Daniel happy, so he decided to continue to feed her tiny bits of information, leading her along.

"Actually, he's someone I worked with, when I was here a long time ago. Before you were born."

Katie was pondering. He could see it in her eyes, a familiar stare that hid things from most people but not him. "Someone who went through the Stargate?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, even before I did."

Katie arched her neck. "But you said you were on the first mission."

Daniel faked confusion. "Did I?"

"Yes, Dad, you did. You said that you and a bunch of military guys were the first ones to go through from…Earth." She stopped.

Daniel tried to hold off a telling grin.

"An ALIEN?" Katie cringed at the echo of her own exuberance and slapped a hand over her mouth before taking a quick survey of the room. Only a few people were still there, and while they had heard her, they quickly looked away. Alien was not so foreign a word here. Katie leaned forward with a whispering tone. "An alien?!" She was hissing. "Tell me!"

Daniel was beside himself. This was actually the most fun he had had in such a long time that he couldn't help it. "Yes."

Katie pushed back in her chair. "This is unbelievable. Is he here? Or is he…you know… 'gating' in?"

"He's coming through the Stargate, yes. We just aren't sure how soon. Could be any minute though."

Katie's eyes were bright with awe. "Fascinating…"

"Watch out kid, you're starting to sound like me." Daniel warned.

"Like father like daughter." She quipped, just as the klaxon blare filled the room. Katie lurched forward and grabbed at the table with her fingertips. "What's that?!"

Daniel was already to his feet, unconcerned as could be. He patted Katie on the shoulder. "That would be Teal'c. Come on."

No one else in the room seemed at all alarmed. Katie scurried to her feet and soon found herself jogging behind her father, who in his aged years had not moved as fast as he was at this moment. Minutes later, they were standing in the room below the briefing room, a bright shimmering pool filling the ring known as the Stargate.

"That is so…"

"Cool?" Daniel offered. Katie looked at him with an awe filled expression and nodded. As she turned back, a figure stepped through the dancing lights.

"Whoa." Katie's exclamation summed it up quite well. For someone watching a person be rematerialized out of an event horizon for the first time, it was surprising she could form a word at all.

There, at the head of the Stargate ramp, stood a large figure, cloaked in gray robes that blocked any and all features, save for a dark skinned hand that held a strange staff to its right side. The figure's left hand rose and pulled back the hood of the robes to reveal a man. His hair was cropped short, and a large amount of gray was filtering out from a strip on the side that seemed to have spawned this aged feature. Strangest of all, was the gold symbol on his forehead that was obvious even from as far away as they were standing. Katie turned to Daniel and pointed to her own forehead for an explanation.

Daniel merely whispered. "I'll let him tell you about it." Daniel turned away from view and Katie quickly turned back as the man was making his way down the ramp towards the concrete slab of a floor. The shinning pool dissipated into nothing and the guards instinctively relaxed.

"Where is General Mitchell?" The figure called. His voice was intimidating as well.

A voice came from their side, and Katie realized that Mitchell had somehow snuck into the room without her even noticing. He leaned towards the intercom. "Teal'c old buddy! Good to see you! I'm sending someone down to meet you, hang on."

The figure was stoic and bowed gracefully in response.

"Katie." The girl turned to see that Daniel was already heading down the stairwell to their right. He waved her to follow and she did so. In the hall before the entrance to the gate room, Daniel stopped her. "You wait right here." He gave a sturdy point and Katie almost tripped over herself to stop in time. She raised her hands in mock surrender and waited as the newly opened steel doors closed again.

She never heard the conversation that occurred over the next two minutes, only feet from where she actually was.

* * *

"Daniel Jackson?" The old Jaffa couldn't believe his eyes.

"Hey Teal'c." Daniel stepped forward and after an awkward moment of staring the two men exchanged a hug.

"Daniel Jackson, for what reason have you returned to Stargate Command?"

"Long story Teal'c, but that's part of why you're here." Daniel's expression became so grave that even Teal'c felt queasy. That was a hard reaction to elicit. "Katie's here too."

Teal'c stood silently, torn between wanting to know why he had been recalled to Earth after so long, and curious as to what awaited him in the form of a young girl he had not seen since she was only weeks old. "Show me."

"Look, Teal'c. Just a reminder, but don't forget what we agreed. I haven't." Daniel's words were almost harsh, but as a father himself, Teal'c understood exactly where Daniel was coming from.

"Understood."

* * *

Katie stopped rocking on her feet as soon as the metal door slid open once again. Her father came out and stopped a few feet to her side. Then came the strange, and even larger in person man who she knew only as an alien. His eyes widened when he caught her in his sights. And Katie stopped breathing when she was able to take his whole figure in. If a person could be surreal, this Teal'c was.

He stepped closer, still studying her every feature. Just when Katie thought that the awkward silence was enough to strangle her, he spoke. "Hello Katherine Jackson. I am Teal'c."

She opened her mouth, and let it hang as such for a moment.

"Katie." Daniel nudged her, hoping to snap her brain back into place.

"Sorry! Um, you can call me Katie. It's nice to meet you…Teal'c." She made sure to pronounce his name just right.

"Very well, Katie Jackson."

"No, I mean, you can just call me Ka…"

"Don't even try." Daniel interrupted. "Seriously, I tried for ten years…don't even bother."

"Oh…" Katie made a big 'o' with her mouth to follow along with her statement and curious stare at her father before turning back to Teal'c to study him further. The Jaffa had never ceased his evaluation though, and he was now staring curiously at the glimmering gemstone in the small indent of her nose.

"What do you say we get to know each other better in a little bit, huh?" Daniel stepped between the two as Teal'c and Katie's stares became a bigger hint that something was about to be said, or asked, that could cause irreparable damage.

"But Dad, I…you said you wanted me to meet your friend…"

"And you did." Daniel smiled all too brightly. "We'll have a big talk over lunch, but right now Teal'c needs to be informed on the bigger picture. I just wanted him to…see you first."

Katie's brow furrowed. See her? When it sunk in she shifted her weight to one hip and gave her father a stern glance. Daniel couldn't help but swallow hard at the idea that she was catching the glances and stares he had seen thrown in her direction. His reaction would have to be fast.

"Yeah, see you." He coughed. "Teal'c has actually met you before. I just thought he would want to see you, now, you know since you're all grown up." He sighed inwardly as the expression on her face showed that she at least half way bought his reasoning.

"Oh. Wow, really?" She shot a bright smile at Teal'c.

"Indeed. But you were very small, and a great deal of time has passed since those few days."

"And so a few more hours won't really matter." Daniel cut in. "Walter!"

With speed unheard of, the small man with glasses appeared from the stairwell behind them.

"Yes Dr. Jackson?"

"Could you take my daughter to her quarters so she can get changed and..." Daniel studied his daughter as he thought. "Is the library still here?"

"Of course Dr. Jackson."

"And nothing I wouldn't want her reading is in there is it?"

"Nothing that I can think of." Walter pondered for a moment as he studied his nose. "Well, actually there is one…"

"Pull it." Daniel nodded quickly. "And um, if you could get someone to keep an eye on her, you know in case she," He looked towards Katie to make everything okay, "you, need anything." He didn't break his calming stare from the girl.

"Of course, Dr. Jackson." The military man held out a hand for her to go ahead of him. "Ms. Jackson."

_Nice catch_. Katie thought to herself as she proceeded forward.

"And no computers!" Daniel added. Katie threw one last bewildered look in his direction from over her shoulder as they headed off.

Daniel only remembered he wasn't alone when she disappeared around the corner and Teal'c spoke. "You have raised a beautiful daughter Daniel Jackson."

Daniel never turned towards him as he replied. "I had nothing to do with that part Teal'c. You and I both know that."

Teal'c took a deep breath, not sure how to respond, and so he thought again before asking the most pertinent question. "What has transpired that would lead you to return here with the child, and further more to request my presence as well?"

Daniel turned slowly. "The same thing that made us all leave."

Teal'c's eyes grew wide. Somehow he had known it was a possibility from the second he saw Daniel enter the gate room to greet him. "The Box has been opened?"

"It has." Daniel confirmed.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! And remember, reviews are like Twilight, addictive (That's why I waited in line to see it yesterday)!!!! So please review, and Happy Thanksgiving :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

Here they were. Two men who hadn't seen each other since they and one other had decided to leave and let the fragments of their lives fall where they may. Teal'c and Daniel were actually so happy to see one another after so long, but guilt kept them from showing any of that particular emotion. They shouldn't have any joy, not with what had brought them together now, and especially not with what had drawn them apart then.

"I understand that Cameron Mitchell has obtained the rank of general and now operates the SGC."

"That's right Teal'c. Of course, I think you heard it first. I just got here a couple of days ago. We haven't really gotten to talk other than to establish the fact that we needed you." Daniel admitted.

Teal'c made his way to the familiar leather seats of the debriefing room. Falling back into routine felt odd after so many years of living planet to planet, trying to make things work for his people, and for his family. Like Daniel, he had been trying to be there for his own child, even if he had children of his own now. "Obviously you have spoken to him about other matters as well."

Teal'c's statement made Daniel furrow his brow and readjust his glasses. "I told him Katie didn't die."

"Is that all you have said?"

Daniel inclined his head at the connotation. "Teal'c, we made a decision without him. I may not have told him more than what he needed to know to understand why she was standing there in front of him, but aside from that I haven't actually had the time, nor the will to tell him much more. Of course now that you're here, I'm sure he's going to get it out of us." He lowered his voice. "I think we owe it to him to explain why we did it."

Teal'c lowered his glance in response as the General in question appeared bounding up the stairs as well as he could for his age.

"Teal'c!" He panted and clapped a hand on the man's back before seating himself. "Sorry 'bout that. Had to sign a few papers. Never should have made so much fun of Landry about those, they really do come back to bite you on the ass sometimes."

Teal'c cut to the chase. "I have been informed by Daniel Jackson that I may be of some assistance in the quest to seal the Box once more."

Mitchell cleared his throat. "Yes, Teal'c, that is why we've called you back like we did. I do wish it could have been under better circumstances though."

"As do I, General Mitchell."

A sad smile crossed Cameron's face. "I do have one question to ask the two of you before we get into this whole 'end of the world' issue though." He placed a hand on the desk and raised it on his fingertips alone. "Why is Sam's daughter alive? And I'll go ahead and make it two questions. Why doesn't she know _anything_ about this place."

"Because she doesn't need to know!" Daniel practically yelled. "I didn't want her to know about any of this. Until yesterday, Katie didn't know what a Stargate was, who any of you were, or more importantly the circumstances surrounding her birth. It would have led to questions that I wouldn't have been able to answer. She didn't need to know. And as far as I am concerned as her _father_, she still doesn't need to know everything. That's why we decided that she would be raised as far away from this as possible."

Teal'c jumped to defend the decision made by he and his friends. "Daniel Jackson and I agreed on this matter General Mitchell. The child did not need to know. It was crucial in fact, that she be kept from the truth. We took great care in planning for her future. We could not afford to lose her as well."

Mitchell seemed at a loss for words. "Teal'c…I still _cannot_ believe you went along with this.

"As I have said, we did not make idol chat about this issue. Katie Jackson is all that we have left of them. She is the only part of _our_ family left."

"Teal'c…Sam was my family too." Cameron was obviously hurt.

"Forgive me General Mitchell, but while we considered you a brother as well, the original members of SG-1 formed a bond that no one could ever truly understand. This decision was for us to make. We wanted to inform you of our decision, but you were not accessible."

Mitchell sat back in his chair and studied the two men, going over his earlier conversation with Daniel in his head. "So then who is this third party Jackson was referring to? There were only four members of the 'original' SG-1, and Jack O'Neill died long before Katie was even born."

Daniel grew rigid at the statement.

Cameron turned on him. "Jackson?"

"Vala." He shrugged. "Why did you think she decided to leave?"

Cameron studied the growing solemn stare on Daniel's face. "I always wondered why she didn't stay here."

"And I often wonder why I _did_." Daniel retorted. "So if we're done with this part can we please get down to what it is you want us to do?"

"Sure." Mitchell nodded. It was going to take far more than one conversation to totally understand what had happened in those days between the time Samantha Carter and her daughter were listed as deceased, and the day that Daniel Jackson carried his daughter out of the SGC with no intention of ever returning.

* * *

Katie hadn't taken long to change. She now had on a pair of long pants that actually deconstructed into Capri's or shorts with the swift pull of a zipper. A wife beater was accessorized with somewhere between seven and ten strands of wooden and stone beads of all colors around her neck, and all earrings, minus the red feather, were in place. Her hair had been pulled into a messy flip at the top of her head and when she turned the SF, assigned to watch her like an inconspicuous hawk, could see the tiniest bit of an Asian inspired tattoo sticking out from the racer-back cut of her top.

She tied her lucky jacket around her waist as they made their way to the library just in time to see Walter walk out with a large book in hand. Katie made sure not to stare at it.

The SF held the door open. "Ma'am."

She smiled at him politely. "Call me Katie, please."

"Yes, ma'am." As she began to roll her eyes he added, "Katie."

He earned a small smirk in return and it took a lot for him to control his urge to grin at her. But he was under strict orders to make sure that aside from literature of the hard-backed form, she was to stay away from anything that could give her excess knowledge of the SGC or those who worked there.

She was surprised at the number of books that filled the small room. Apparently most people who worked in the facility kept their own private collections in their offices, but just in case, there was this small little nook filled with all kinds of histories and scientific theories. It would have been quite exciting if she hadn't been on her own mission; to find out what it was that had been removed without anyone knowing she was on to them.

_Okay, look…studious._ Katie told herself. Books, books, and more books. At least the room wasn't that large. She went to the furthest shelf and began to scan the spines of each book as quickly as she could. Looking to interested could be a problem. She was immediately foiled in her first plan. Finding an empty spot on the shelves to narrow down what was missing wasn't going to work, there were more than thirty that she counted at first glance alone.

She took a deep breath and turned back towards the SF. "You know, it would be easier for me to find something if I could use the catalogue…" _And check for the most recently removed item_. She added to herself.

"I'm sorry Ms. Katie, but I'm under orders. You can't use the computer."

Katie grinned. "Can't blame a girl for asking." He smiled in return and she reminded herself that if worse came to worse, there was always flirting to get what you wanted. Not that she had much practice in that field.

She turned back and began to walk around the room. Books filled each of the four walls, and then four longer shelves in between. The books were arranged by subject matter, then author…not unlike other libraries. Back to square one. She began to pace around. It was as she studied the empty spaces that she realized something only an archeologist would think of that fast. Dust. The empty areas she found were filled with different layers of dust, not much in some areas, but enough for her to be certain that nothing had been removed recently.

"Find anything?" Katie jerked and hit her hand on the shelf in front of her. It stung. The SF was peering from around the end of the shelf she had walked around.

"Um…not yet…just looking…"

"Mind if I ask what you're looking for?"

Had she been turned in his direction her face would have given him away, but she had turned away quickly enough that he didn't see her falter. "Not really sure, just, something I might find interesting."

"Well, I'm sure there's a lot of that in here."

"Oh, I know there is." Katie whispered to herself.

"What was that?"

She turned back with a sweet smile. "I said, 'I hope there is', I'd love to learn more about…" She grabbed a book at random. "Biomorphic design." She let out a nervous laugh. As the SF walked away she let out a deep breath and shoved the book back into its place.

It would be another hour or so before she found what she was looking for. Two places so far had held no dust. One was in the area designated for horticulture, and the other was most likely about war strategy. She doubted they had much to do with what she was looking for. But this place, this missing book just felt more important. There was no dust whatsoever. Feeling guilty, Katie looked around to make sure that the SF was not going to pop out from around a shelf. She listened carefully and was sure she could hear him breathing deeply, perhaps asleep, at the small seating area near the entrance to the room.

Katie reached up and took a book from beside the missing place. Astrophysics. That sure sounded important. And when she studied the books to the side they all were about the same thing. Wormholes, parallel theories, all kinds of science that surely had a lot to do with the Stargate and how it worked, not to mention other things that surely went on in this strange facility. _More important, sure._ Katie pondered. _But why would Dad have it pulled?_

"Katie!"

The book slipped from her hands so quickly she couldn't catch it in time and it slammed to the floor.

"Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah Dad!" She grabbed the book up as quickly as she could and tossed it on top of the shelf. Hopefully he hadn't heard or seen. Then she shuffled to the opposite side and pulled a book off the shelf, opening it quickly.

Daniel heard the commotion and went to investigate. When he turned the corner, he saw Katie flipping pages in a book of astronomy. "Look!" She smiled and flashed him a brief glimpse of the image inside. "The Aurora Borealis!"

Daniel smiled in return. "One day. I promised."

And Katie believed him. At least, she believed that he would try. If there was a chance left.

"Is everything okay? Can we talk to Teal'c now?" Curiosity would keep her out of trouble with any hope. At least long enough to let her curiosity find what she wanted to know.

"We're going to talk to Teal'c, yes. But not about what you think."

Katie looked befuddled and put the book back on the shelf. "Dad?"

"We have something we need to tell you."

Katie just followed silently.

* * *

"_And one more thing. Don't mention Jack to her. Ever. I've got enough questions to answer without that one popping up before I'm ready." _The words played through Mitchell's head as he watched Daniel return to the briefing room, Katie close behind. The girl looked positively terrified. He hadn't seen that expression on Sam many times. It made his stomach turn. Daniel must have told her what the plan was.

On the way from the library to the briefing room, Daniel had done just that. Somehow the conversation about what Daniel, Teal'c and Mitchell were going to do to stop the Box from spreading its plague amongst the stars again had returned to one of its original survivors. Reluctantly, Daniel had agreed to tell her, for the most part, what had happened eighteen years ago.

Daniel pulled out a seat, and Katie took it quickly. She returned Mitchell's stare this time, less timid than before.

"You sure you wanna hear this?" Daniel was giving her an out if she wanted it.

"I don't know if 'want' is the right word. But I think I need to know."

"Katie…"

"Just tell me what happened Dad." Teal'c and Cam rearranged their seating.

"Fine." Daniel conceded and took a seat himself; directly beside Katie. He took a deep breath. "You know the story of Pandora's Box right?

Katie frowned. "Which version?"

"Doesn't really matter, none of them were right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, as I've taught you, alien races had a lot to do with our ancient history. Names, events, legends, and a lot of them were based on historical truths that modern historians would discount because of their outlandish propositions." Daniel let his words sink in.

Katie looked at Teal'c for a brief moment. It was hard to concentrate with so many questions. Then her gaze returned to Daniel's awaiting eyes. "In other words they sounded completely insane and couldn't have been seen as anything but fairy tales? I was listening. What does this have to do with Pandora's Box? Was it real?!"

"Basically, yes. But like I was trying to tell you, more times than not, the stories haven't made it to us today in what you'd call accurate forms."

Katie nodded. "So…based on true events, but molded to a more entertaining presentation?"

Daniel bobbed his own head in response. "In this case molded to a less depressing one."

Katie sucked in a deep breath. "Go on."

"Okay, you're going to have to make a few leaps, and accept a few gaps, but here goes. I've told you about the Goa'uld already."

She nodded eagerly. At this rate she'd have a crick in her neck by night's end.

"The Goa'uld that I dealt with were, for the most part, parasites that lived in human hosts. But originally, they inhabited creatures known as Unas. They were large, reptilianesque…beings. They walked on two legs, spoke, and did most everything humans did. But the Goa'uld are vain, and the Unas were not the most attractive species to inhabit.

"When the Goa'uld found Earth, they came in the form of the Unas. Zeus, was one of these first."

Katie leaned forward onto the table so quickly that Mitchell had to hide a little jump. "Zeus? The Greek god, Zeus? But he was a…"

Daniel broke in. "Man? Not in the beginning. When Zeus first took a host, he took the form of an Unas. He didn't take the form of a human, until he came to Earth. But he was cautious. Other Goa'uld were transferring into humans already, the ancient Egyptian gods. But the process was still new. Zeus wanted to be absolutely sure that his new host would be an upgrade in more ways than just aesthetics." He stopped to assure she was following, and received a small shift of Teal'c's eyes to urge him to continue.

"So he needed a test subject?" Katie asked.

"Exactly. One of Zeus's underlings was one of his _daughters_; Pandora."

_"The_ Pandora?"

Daniel nodded. "Now Pandora was a loyal Goa'uld, as Goa'uld go, which means she had to do what Zeus wanted because she had little or no power of her own. But even so, it was going to take a lot to get her to take a human host when the one she had was so reliable."

Cameron couldn't remain quiet so he added, "So Zeus gave her an opportunity she couldn't resist. Take a human host, and receive Earth in return."

Katie looked at him and Mitchell felt a shiver run down his spine as his mind wandered over her eyes. "Earth? The whole planet?" Cam was silent, and she turned to her father.

"Well, his territories on it. He kept enough information about Earth secret from her and his other minions so that they didn't really know how many other Goa'ulds had their fingers in the cookie jar. But that didn't really matter to Pandora. Any hold on territory in a new world teaming with a life form that seemed so promising was a start at getting her own throne. So she went for it.

"Zeus chose a woman from the people who would one day become the Ancient Greeks. Pandora took her. Now this is where the test was put into play. An Unas was so different from anything that the people of Earth knew, that they were pretty easily convinced to worship them. But Zeus believed they would not be so easily convinced of a human form being…divine. He feared insurrection. Even if the test had proved that physically the human body was a preferable host, he wanted to know that it was a believable one as well."

Katie's eyes narrowed. "So he gave her a chance to play…goddess?"

"Precisely. Pandora was given full reign of the territory. And so the daughter of Zeus was sent to Earth…"

"With her dowry…"

"Pandora's Box."

Teal'c's voice boomed in comparison to theirs. "Filled with all the malice and pestilence of the world."

Katie quivered and sank into her chair. Her voice barely a whisper. "So the story of the box was true? And now it's open. That's where the plague is coming from?"

Daniel raised a finger. "Don't get ahead!"

She bit her lip. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay."

"You're on the right track." Mitchell added.

Her father rose from his seat and began to pace. "As Zeus feared there was an uprising. The box was the source of a bioweapon of Ancient design. We still don't know how he got it."

"Ancient? As in old?" Katie questioned.

"As in another far more advanced alien race…that we don't have time to get into. But Pandora opened it, releasing on the people a plague of unheard of consequences. Even she was killed, her host being human and all. Apparently Zeus planned on using it on her from a remote location if she tried to get power hungry."

Katie got up from her seat as well and leaned, palms flat on the desk. "So if Pandora was dead, she obviously didn't close the box herself like the myth says. So, how did they close the box? I mean, I'm assuming it was closed. Earth survived."

"The box was not open for long. A few days at the most. And you're right, she didn't close it, it was one of Pandora's servants who closed it."

"How?"

"The box was designed to close, or stop transmitting the disease, when it received a sacrifice." Daniel stopped dead in his tracks, gazing down at the Stargate from the window.

Katie stood straight. "What kind of sacrifice?" Her eyes drifted from her father's back to the eyes of Teal'c and Mitchell. Both men looked downcast.

"The human kind." Cameron finally replied when it appeared no one else would. He and Katie shared a conversation of horror through their eyes.

Completely stunned, Katie ran around the table to stand by Daniel. "But that doesn't make any sense! If it was designed to kill humans, how could a human sacrifice shut it down?"

Daniel turned and leaned against the wall and glass. "We've seen technology like it before. In this particular case, Zeus used it because he didn't think humans would be willing to die to save others even if they figured out that was how to stop the plague. He knew he could _force_ a sacrifice of course if he needed to, but he was planning on letting it spread enough to cause trouble for the rest of the Goa'uld."

"But someone stopped it?"

"Yes." Daniel gave Katie a weak smile. "What was left in the Box?"

"Hope."

"And when you heard that story when you were a little girl, what did you think that meant?"

"That even though all the bad stuff was in the world, there was till hope…some kind of optimism."

"Made a good story didn't it?" Daniel's bitterness stunned her.

"Dad…what was in the Box?"

"Hope. She was in the Box."

"She? Hope was a woman?"

"Well, her named sounded different, but it mean the same thing. Hope, who had served Pandora, and figured out what was going on, sacrificed herself to the box to save her people from the plague that was killing them. Needles to say, Zeus was pissed. He never expected humans to be so willing to die for one another. Something the Goa'uld never got used to." Daniel was obviously remembering more than just this one adventure in his youth.

Katie turned to the two men at the table. "And so that's how you beat them." It wasn't a question. But she still got a reply.

"Yes. Eventually, we did. But Pandora's Box was one of those things that got left behind. That's how we stumbled onto it."

"Who's we?" Katie pushed.

"That would be us." Mitchell cut in. "Your father and I, Teal'c, and the rest of SG-1. It was supposed to have been one of our last jaunts. Just, checking things out on a deserted Goa'uld homeworld. Nothing new, just, for old time's sake. We had a tag along Colonel with us too…"

Daniel's nostrils flared as his eyes met with Cameron's, but it didn't stop him.

"A good friend. She was tagging along before she was going to be transferred to her new position."

"A woman colonel? That's pretty big right?" It didn't seem pertinent, but she wanted to know just the same.

Cameron grinned and looked positively charming. "Well, it wasn't unheard of, but she was pretty top of the line."

Daniel stood straight once more and stepped between Katie and Cameron. "She was an outstanding woman all around, but that's beside the point!"

Katie shrunk and headed back to her seat. "Sorry, go ahead."

"Alright, so long story short, we were exploring a deserted former Goa'uld stronghold. It just happened to be the place where Pandora's Box had been transferred to, held for all those thousands of years. We didn't know what it was exactly. It looked like something we had found before known as the Ark of Truth, and we thought it was something the Goa'uld had scavenged."

Everyone looked at one another before Daniel started again.

"We…I…I was looking at the box, studying it, when I activated it."

A look of dread filled Katie's face as she watched her father become ridden with guilt. A guilt she didn't understand.

"It was purely accidental." Teal'c broke in upon reading his friend's pain.

"Either way, Pandora's Box opened again, and thousands died."

Katie wiped away at something on her face, only to be shocked to find tears streaming down. "And it's open now isn't it?"

Daniel walked over to where she was sitting, ignoring all others in the room. He knelt down and turned her chair towards him. "It is. But we're not going to let the same thing happen again."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope that explains a lot without being too boring. Thank you all for reading and for your reviews :D**

**Reviews are like jellybeans, all different flavors, and each one so sweet. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Katie's gaze had never drifted away from the table after she turned the chair back towards it. Pandora's Box was real. It had been opened. Not once, but twice. Now it was open again. It almost took out the universe last time. What would be lost this time? She thought about it for a second, asking the question of how they had closed it, but at this very moment, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. And from the finality in Daniel's tone, she wasn't going to find out easily.

Strangely enough, it was Teal'c who raised from his seat next and passed Daniel by to speak to the girl. He placed a strong hand on her shoulder from behind as she continued to stare with a catatonic grace at the table before her. "We will find a way to stop the Box of Pandora. You have my word."

Katie's brow furrowed, but she did not turn. "Did you promise that last time too?" Her voice was uneven.

Teal'c opened his mouth but had no response. He stepped back.

"As a matter of fact he did." Mitchell remarked. "And we closed it that time too." She continued to stare at the table. "Katie?"

She blinked, and slowly turned her head. It was hard to read her emotions. Was she scared, or hurt? No matter the call on that one, she was thinking, anyone could see that. "Yes?"

"We _are_ going to close it. I'll make it a promise too."

Katie sucked in a breath, only to shake as she let it out. "Just promise me my Dad isn't going to get hurt…because if I lose him too…so help me God…" Katie froze mid-threat. Her mother died giving birth. That much she knew. Her father would never have lied about something like that. But her pause had only given more power to her first intention.

"Katie, you don't talk to people like that…"

"This isn't polite conversation, Dad! They want you to help them stop the world from ending, and my guess is it's going to put you at risk of becoming just another victim!"

"Katie." Daniel hit his fist on the table. "I opened the box. _Me_. That makes it my responsibility to close it."

"No it doesn't. You opened the box _last _time. And quite frankly, I don't care! It was an accident, everyone at this table agrees on that accept for maybe you. You didn't open it this time, so it is not your problem, and it damn well isn't ours!"

"Katie!" Daniel shouted as the entire table grew silent.

She stood quickly. "I'm all for saving the world, but why do they need you? You're all I've got!" Katie turned towards Mitchell. "Why do you need him? If it's for translations, I can do it. Please…I can't lose him too."

Mitchell hesitated. "I'm afraid it's more complicated than that."

Katie winced and tried to stop her tears from welling as Daniel took her by the shoulders and attempted to force her to look at him. "Katie…Katherine…Katherine look at me." She slowly let her eyes drift towards his. "I'm not going anywhere. I will not leave you. I never have. But if only for my own conscious…I have to do this."

Katie was in full-fledged tears. "You _cannot_ leave me here alone."

Daniel pulled her into his arms. "I'll never leave you baby girl. Never."

"Daniel Jackson, you do realize that Katie Jackson will not be able to accompany us on the off world missions…"

Daniel cut his eyes over Katie's head. "Well then, I will always come back…thank you Teal'c."

A small giggle through tears came from somewhere around Daniel's chest and he gripped his daughter closer. "We gonna be okay?"

"Sure Dad." She pulled her head back. "Just so long as you keep your promise."

* * *

After Daniel led Katie out, Mitchell stopped Teal'c before he could follow.

"Well, I was wondering when that was going to come out."

"Are you referring to the story of Pandora's Box, General Mitchell?"

Cameron rocked on his feet. "No, actually, I was referring to that little personality hiccup that came out of her when she thought someone she loved was in danger."

Teal'c bowed. "Indeed."

"Oh and Teal'c, just one more thing before you go…"

"What is it General Mitchell?"

"You haven't run into Vala out there have you?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "For what reason do you ask?"

"Teal'c, she helped last time…and we're going to be short on experience as it is."

"Bringing Vala Mal Doran into this could very well cause more trouble than good, General Mitchell."

"Trouble for the cause, or trouble for Jackson?"

"I believe you know the answer to that question General Mitchell or you would not have asked it."

Cameron seemed taken aback. "Teal'c, you signed on for this, and I can make it an order if I have to. Yes or no?"

Teal'c's lips pursed. "I have been in contact with Vala Mal Doran since we left the people of the Tauri, yes. But it has been many years."

"What's the likelihood of tracking her down?"

"The likelihood is very high. But the woman you find will not be the woman you once knew."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Find her and you shall see for yourself." Teal'c walked towards the head of the table and pulled Mitchell's notebook towards himself. The pen in the inner slip was used to quickly draw up a 'gate address. "Vala Mal Doran will be found on this planet if she is to be found at all."

Mitchell studied the image for a moment. "What makes you think she's still here? Vala I knew didn't like to sit still for long."

"As I said, she is not the Vala you once knew." Teal'c excused himself in silence, vowing to keep Mitchell's newest search to himself.

* * *

It's surprising how quickly things can happen. Perhaps it's impending doom, but then again, impending doom is different for everyone. Of course, the literal end of the world is always more desperate than an 'F' on an algebra test. It tends to find people coming home much quicker than they normally would.

Katie finally got to talk to Teal'c. He told her about the Jaffa. How they were imprisoned in a life of servitude and false worship by the Goa'uld. He spoke of Daniel and their team, all the while leaving out names that Daniel insisted would just get forgotten. Teal'c seemed sad at that thought and Katie filed the emotions playing in his eyes away with all of the other information she was storing within herself.

And so the day passed. Daniel was called away to work on something that Katie didn't know about and so she went back to the library where the mystery book on some advanced science dealing with the Stargate and written by someone with a 'C' last name was still missing. She stared at the blank spot for a good hour before it came to her and she could have kicked herself for not making the connection sooner. That's when she felt her stomach fall again into that weird twisting sensation and she found a corner in the library, away from the new and nosey SF. She pulled a book on the peoples of India and tried to lose herself in her memories.

The SF woke her some time after she had fallen asleep. Hours more had passed.

"Miss Jackson." He shook her shoulder and startled her. Katie banged her head into the shelf behind it and rubbed a sore spot as she got to her feet. The book she quickly placed back on the shelf beside her. "I've been ordered to escort you back to your quarters for the night ma'am."

Katie just nodded groggily.

She was in such a stupor from trying to put her thoughts together that she didn't notice that it was Teal'c escorting a woman through the corridors. At least, not until the woman spoke.

"Oh my God…"

Katie lifted her eyes and met those of someone who seemed so oddly familiar that she felt a shiver.

"Katherine?"

Katie's eyes went wide. "Uh, yeah…do I…" She was thrown even more off guard when the woman swiftly gathered her up in her arms.

"Ma'am!" The SF approached quickly.

"Do not!" Teal'c warned.

"Sir, I'm under strict orders to take Ms. Jackson back to her quarters, no interruptions."

"I will take her."

"Sir, I can't…"

"I said I will take her." Teal'c boomed. "If you do not believe me then speak to General Mitchell." The SF slowly shrank back and then walked away quickly.

"Um, do I know you?" Katie asked, somewhat gasping for air, the woman had quite a hold on her.

The woman let go quickly, keeping one hand on Katie's shoulder, and the other now clasped over her own mouth as she shook her head, tears glittering in her eyes. "You look just like your mother…"

"How do you…!"

"Vala Mal Doran, Daniel Jackson does not wish for anyone to speak to Katie Jackson about this matter without him being present."

The woman turned away. "Well Daniel isn't here now is he Muscles? I'm just stating a fact that I'm sure Katherine is well aware of. I mean she doesn't look a thing like her _father_ now does she?"

"How do you know my father, and better yet my mother?"

"Well, I'll leave most of that for your Dad to answer, but I'm sure the simplest answer would be that we worked together, a long time ago." Vala raised her hand and traced her fingers in a maternal gesture down the side of Katie's face. "You look so beautiful. I haven't seen you in so long. You know, I held you for three hours straight the last day I was here…" Tears were rolling down her face now. "Daniel practically had to claw you out of my arms, I didn't want to let go."

Katie turned her head to the side. "I know you." She whispered. "At least, it feels like I do."

Teal'c's hand came up to gently grasp Vala's arm. "Perhaps another time…"

Katie faltered. "But Teal'c…I don't even know…"

"Katie Jackson, I am sorry, but I do not wish to upset your father any further, and Vala Mal Doran needs to be somewhere at this moment. I will do all I can to see that you two speak again soon, you have my word."

Katie nodded. It was hard not to believe this man. "But who's going to take me to my room?"

"I shall take you there now." Teal'c replied. "Vala Mal Doran, he is in his old office, do you remember where to find it?"

"Of course. Like the back of my hand." She replied glumly. "Just one more for the road though." She added before hugging Katie once more. This time the girl returned the favor and Vala found it hard not to hold back a sniffle as she left.

* * *

Daniel heard the steps enter the office. The office that belonged to someone else now. Someone younger, and less jaded. But this person had kept most of his research and Mitchell had been ever so generous in having everything put as close to it had been as possible that Daniel fell quickly back into the routine. Believing that the footsteps belonged to an SF, or messenger, he turned from the book he was reading on the desk towards the doorway, only to be shocked at what he saw.

"Vala…" It was only a whisper that escaped Daniel's lips.

"Hello Daniel." Her voice was the same but that was about all that was. Her hair was shorter than it once was, straight and plain with gray starting to streak all about it. There were dark circles under her eyes as if sleep was no longer on her list of things to do. She had a plain dress that covered more of her skin than she once had been known for, rust red with cream under dressing.

"What are you doing here?" He was trying to sound bitter but failing. Deep down he was glad to see her, but he refused to let his demeanor fail him now.

"I could ask you the same thing. Last time we spoke you said you'd never set foot in this place again; especially not with Katherine." She crossed her arms over her chest. She was angry, and yet the spark that once fueled her fights was gone. "She's beautiful by the way." Daniel puffed up and she quickly added. "Of course, I haven't said anything other than 'hello' if that's what you're worried about.

Daniel took his glasses off and began cleaning them on his shirt tail. "Good. And as far as us being back here, I didn't expect this to come up again."

"No, I don't think any of us did." Vala replied. "Of course, I surely didn't expect that I would be back here either."

"You weren't supposed to be."

Vala rolled her eyes. "No, I'm sure you did everything in your power to make sure you never had to see me again now didn't you?"

"That's not fair." Daniel spat.

"Oh isn't it?"

Daniel stepped forward in three quick paces until he was a few feet from where she stood. "Who left Vala? Who left who?"

"You made it clear that you were leaving well before I ever uttered the words." She growled.

"I left the program, you left the entire planet!" He waved his arms out around him.

"And I begged you to come with me!" Vala screamed.

* * *

**A/N: Drama. **

**Reviews, without them it's like Thanksgiving without pie. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Vala, you know I couldn't go with you. _We_ couldn't."

"Why not?" Vala put her hands on her hips. "I know I asked you 18 years ago, but I couldn't get a straight answer out of you even then."

"Vala, I couldn't risk it. You of all people know the dangers that are out there. At least here she was safe from our pasts." He had a point. Raising Katie off world would have had the ongoing threat of Daniel and Vala running into someone from their past who would do anything for revenge. They wouldn't have cared about a little girl being in the way. "Besides," Daniel continued. "You dismissed my offer too, remember?"

Vala turned her nose up to keep from showing more emotion than she had already let out. "I wasn't exactly in the position to stay Daniel. They wouldn't have let me out of their sights for long. SG-1 member or not, I'm still a former host, and a constant security risk. I wasn't going to stay here and risk them following up on me and finding Katherine and ruining everything. I love that little girl too and don't you forget that." Her nostrils flared as she took in a heavy breath.

Daniel took another step forward, and more calmly than before. "I would have protected you, not that you need protecting. She did though. And as much as I…no matter what _I_ wanted…she came first. She always will."

"Still; it wasn't fair that you took her from me."

"I didn't take her from anyone!" Daniel retorted quickly.

Vala's bottom lip quivered. "I could have been her mother…"

"You are _not_ her mother!" Daniel was oddly offended at the thought.

"Who held her when she was crying for a mother that wasn't there?!" Vala protested.

"Sam didn't die and leave her daughter for you to…she isn't Adria! This wasn't your second chance Vala, I'm sorry."

Vala flushed red. "How dare you bring Adria into this?"

"How dare you come back here and suggest that the decision was all _mine_?"

"Because this part of the decision _was _all yours, Daniel." Vala held a hand pointed at Daniel's face. "I was there; don't insult my memory or my intelligence. Samantha handed you that child for you to give her a family. I could have been a part of that family Daniel. You and I could have raised that child the right way, with a mother _and_ a father and given her something neither one of us ever had."

Daniel resettled his gaze. "Is this about Katie, or is this about us?"

"There is no _us_ Daniel. Not anymore."

Daniel crossed his arms. "Then why are you here?"

* * *

"Teal'c, who was that woman?"

The Jaffa straightened his stance as they reached the door to Katie's small quarters, from the open doorway he could see the few belongings she had scattered on her bed, strewn from her pack. "May we speak away from prying ears?"

Katie looked a little uneasily at the hallway but permitted Teal'c to enter nonetheless. He was her father's friend, and more so, he was a friend to her mother she could tell. She spoke not a word as the metallic clank of the door insured that no one would hear their conversation. She then picked a spot against the wall to lean against as Teal'c studied her belongings, gathering his thoughts.

"As we have spoken about already, your father and I were part of a team known as SG-1. There have been many members of that team over time, including General Mitchell." He paused and turned towards the girl, seeing something new in her gaze as she stood in the shadow of the dim underground room, the tiny glint of her nose ring all that sparkled for her eyes were dark with thought.

"Is it safe to assume that the lady in the hall was on that team as well?"

Teal'c bowed gently. "It is." He took a deep breath. "Katie Jackson, may I request that what we speak of…not be shared with your father?"

Katie cocked her head to the side. "I don't know…" She began, trying to keep up appearances while at the same time the voice in her head screamed for her to beg him to continue. "If my dad didn't want me to know something, he must have had a reason…" She pushed the few extra words in, hoping more would be revealed.

"Understand Katie Jackson, your father is protecting you out of love, but I fear if too much is withheld…I believe you should know some things which have gone unsaid."

Katie swallowed and nodded. Finally. Truth.

"The woman you met in the hallway is Vala Mal Doran. She, like I, is what you would refer to as an alien, although she is human in physicality."

"So not a Jaffa?"

"No. Vala Mal Doran was once host to a Goa'uld known as Quetesh…but the Tok'Ra, a rebel force of Goa'uld who opposed the ways of the System Lords we have spoken to you about, freed her. Sometime after that, we began to work with her, and she became a member of SG-1."

Katie could see that his story was not finished, that something was holding him back, some thought process of how much to reveal, and so she remained silent against the wall. All the while in shock of the history of the woman who seemed so familiar.

"Vala Mal Doran remained with SG-1 up until the time of your birth."

Katie couldn't hold her tongue. "She left because of me?"

"Not at all." Teal'c corrected. "But, the events surrounding you birth, and the fight to close Pandora's Box did ultimately lead to her departure from both SG-1, and Earth."

Teal'c was silent for some time. Katie finally spoke. "Teal'c, I'm pretty sure my dad would have eventually told me this…so why are you telling me?"

"Because, there are certain elements of these events that I am fairly certain your father will not rehash with you present. Events which I believe you have a right to know."

"What kind of events?"

"Forgive me for not being able to tell you more, for I wish that I could, but I have already overstepped my rights. But you should know that Vala Mal Doran wished to be your mother when your own passed from this life."

Katie's stomach flipped for the hundredth time, but unlike before it fell like a stone, cold and dead within her, and she could swear that her heart had forgotten how to beat. A strange look grew on her face. It was a pain she didn't know how to describe, or how to deal with. "What…why are you telling me this? How did she know…why would she…?" So many questions; and none with answers that she would receive.

"I cannot tell you anything further. I am sorry." Teal'c went for the door, his fingers wrapped tightly around the handle.

"No!" Katie said forcefully and took hold of his wrist which her fingers could barely fit around. "You can't tell me something like that and just leave." There was a pleading in her eyes. "Why did she want to be my mother? Why wasn't she in some form if that's what she wanted?"

"I am afraid that is something that only she and your father will ever know. Speak no further of it. I have told you all I can, and far more than I should have." Teal'c opened the door swiftly and left Katie staring into the hall as it swung closed once again. His only regret that he could not tell her what she deserved to know.

* * *

"I'm here to finish a job we obviously didn't finish." Vala replied coldly. "And then I'll be gone. Back to where I'm needed."

"Needed? Let me guess, the great alliance of space thieves can't survive without their fearless leader?"

Vala became a bit smug. "Do I look like a thief to you? I'm old Daniel, if you haven't noticed…of course I doubt you've been near a mirror to see yourself either." She reached up to the collar of her dress. "And of course this isn't exactly the well known attire for a thief either."

"So what then?" Daniel pretended he didn't care but she knew he couldn't help but wonder. And so she found a bit of satisfaction in keeping it to herself.

"I manage." She took a step closer, they were inches apart. "And somehow, I think between the two of us, I've come out the better of all this. I hope you haven't allowed your self-hatred to wear off on her."

Daniel leaned forward, staring her deadly in her eyes. "Get out."

"Gladly." And with that she spun on her heels and headed back to speak with Teal'c.

**A/N: More Drama...and so close to finding out something very very important...THANKS FOR READING!!!!**

**Reviews are like Santa's Naughty and Nice List...either way he's telling you something, so please tell me something!!! :D**


	10. Katie's Pain

**Katie's Pain**

The door shut in front of my face and I bit down on her tongue to keep from screaming. The coppery warm flood of blood ran back in my throat and I swallowed hard. I took a ragged breath and headed for the washroom. That's how I got here. Right after he said that to me. A mother. Not my mother, obviously, but I could have had one of some kind…

I hear the water running and realize that my fingers have sought out the ancient faucet knob and turned it so that the water is rushing in so fast that little droplets are splattering up and spraying my shirt in a light mist. I lean forward and stick my tongue under the flow and spy a trail of pink running around the white porcelain before disappearing into the pipes and down into the deep abyss that is this place. If only all wounds bled. Well, if that were true I'd have died a long time ago.

When the icy water has finally beaten my bitten tongue into a dull throbbing ache I pull it back behind my teeth and clench them down once more. I splash a bit more water onto my face and then shut it off. The room sounds strange without the echo of the water's rush, empty. I'm empty, and this is becoming a feeling I think I may actually be able to live with. This is a bad sign.

Reluctantly I look up into the mirror; she's there of course. Staring back at me. Judging me. Would she? My mother. Would she judge me? Would she be angry that I was wishing for that woman in the hall, the woman I've known all of two seconds and perhaps all of my life in a way that I can't recall; would she be angry that I wanted her to be my mother? Or just someone to call Mom? Someone to go to when Dad was in one of his ways.

"Don't look at me like that." I say to her. I see her looking at me, disappointed. No, that's not her. That's me. I'm disappointed in myself. I haven't figured out anything. I don't think I ever will. For all I discover I become deeper entrenched in questions.

But I have found out something. My mother's name was Carter. Something Carter. She looked just like me. She had blond hair and brown eyes. She was a scientist. That's the only explanation the missing book offers. And more than that, she worked here. Vala Mal Doran knew her. Teal'c knew her. And my father, my father refuses to remember her. My mother. The mother of his child.

I look so pale in this light. I miss the sun. I miss the earth beneath my feet, and the wind, and the night's sky. I miss the world. My world. The world where I had nothing to go on at all. The world where none of this existed and I didn't have to live with the sneaking suspicion that my father has been lying to me for my entire life about something so…so beyond words that I'm shaking as I grip the basin.

I walk out of the restroom as fast as I can. The bed is close and I'm dizzy for the umpteenth time. My things are scattered across the bedding and I shove them off quickly and throw myself down.

And then for the first time that I can remember, I'm crying.

I'm beyond crying.

I'm sobbing.

My throat hurts; it's squeezing tighter and tighter. My eyes are running out of tears soon. How long have I been crying to run out of tears? My lungs are burning because I can't get enough air in. I start to cough between small whimpers that are only small because the world is closing in around me, and it's so dark and so near that I can't hear that I'm actually screaming. The air is harder to get and I choke. I can't breath and things are getting darker. I think I'm about to pass out when my stomach remembers itself and heaves its contents onto the floor by the bed. Now I can breath but my ribs hurt.

The bitter tang of bile is strong and my nose is burning too. I look at what I've done, the mess on the floor, and unconsciously I hustle to the bathroom and wet a towel. I start to clean the mess, it wasn't much. I hadn't had much to eat recently. I'm still crying. And my tongue burns where the acid in my stomach has now begun to creep into the teeth marks made so short a time ago.

I'm hyperventilating again, but this time it's my body trying to calm itself down. I must sound like a three year old. For every breath I struggle at I'm making some odd whimpering cry…and I can't stop. I want to stop so badly. I want it all to stop. I want this to all be a dream. I don't want the world to end. I don't want to be the reason it ends because I'm causing trouble looking for the dead when my Dad is trying to save the living. But I want to know so damn badly that I'm sitting, rocking on the floor with a towel filled with nerves pushed to the side and whimpering like I don't think I've ever done in my entire life.

Rocking.

Breathing.

Crying out.

And then the door, someone is knocking on the door. I want to tell them to go away. I want to tell them I'm fine, but all I get out is this odd little _hee-hefff _sound from my jagged breaths. The door opens and I look away before I can see who is there. It's probably Dad, the last person I actually want to see right now, and that makes me start crying all over again because I've never felt that way about him in my entire life. I lean my head forward and pull my arms over it, wishing I could be invisible.

And then I feel arms. Around me. Holding me. They're thin and frail, but somehow strong and nurturing and I've felt them before. In the hallway. I peer up and see those two pale eyes looking at me with a sad sort of sparkle.

"I…I…ca…can…t…stooo…stoo…oop…" And that's all I can get out before I let out a strange animal like wail and try desperately to hold it back so that it comes out like a fan belt dying in a car.

"Don't stop." I hear her say with her heavy accent. "It only hurts worse if you stop." She pulls me closer against her and somehow I find I'm holding her back. She's got her arms over my shoulders and she's rubbing circles between them with one hand and starting to rock me with the other.

"Vala Mal Doran…" I hear Teal'c, he sounds far away.

"I've got her Muscles." Such an apt nickname that I would probably giggle given another circumstance. "You just watch out for Grumpy will you?"

There is no reply, only a closed door, and I don't care why. I want all the doors to close. I want her to keep holding me. Holding me like she's my mother. I need her to, otherwise I think I may implode. She's rocking me still, saying things I can't really hear but they are calming me down. She stops making circles, now she's gently stroking my hair. How long has she been here? I can't remember. But my breathing has calmed down. I think I could speak if I wanted to. But I don't. Speaking is overrated. I don't want to speak right now. I just want to listen to the sound of her heart beating so close, so strangely calm.

Why did my father take this from me?

* * *

**A/N: I'm not on a Daniel bashing, I swear. Hope you're enjoying, and thank you for reading!!!**

**Reviews are like candy canes, you can never hang enough on the Christmas tree! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Damn that woman." Daniel cursed aloud. Vala had been gone from his office for almost half an hour, and yet he still couldn't get her voice out of his head. Truth be told, and he would never admit it, but it wasn't something that hadn't happened before. It had just become more and more faint over time. The melodious rhythm of her words was frequent at first, right after she had left. It came to him most often when he was holding Katie after it had taken her hours to fall asleep.

She hadn't been an easy child. Not at first. Not when she couldn't understand that a mother wasn't going to come for her when she cried. Daniel couldn't fill that particular void. She would squirm there in his arms, red in the face and full of fright, screaming like any baby away from its mother. But Katie didn't have a mother, and so her cries would go on and on until she could cry no more and finally fell asleep. But Vala…Vala had been able to calm her in that short bit of time before everything went from bad to worse. She'd hold Katie, and the child would fall into a calm and peaceful sleep almost instantly, her cherubim lips moving slowing, in and out. He'd stand in the doorway and watch, knowing that they had little time to make a decision. He thought he had made it then, but he was wrong.

Katie stopped crying four months after Vala left. It wasn't some slow progression. She didn't cry less and less. She just stopped. Something in her sad face stared up at Daniel one night and broke. Daniel was fairly sure it was her heart. And after that, when he was no longer reminded of Vala holding her, and comforting her, Daniel began to hear her voice less and less. He refused to admit that he missed it.

Shaking the memory free from his mind, Daniel looked at his notebooks again. He'd done all he could do on Earth. All the research in the world wasn't going to stop the inevitable. Pandora's Box wasn't on Earth. It was on Delphi, beginning its vicious cycle again, deep in the lake which they had submerged it. He was going to have to go there. And he was going to have to tell Katie. He was going to have to tell her a lot. With the clichéd thought of 'better sooner than later', he turned off the lights and headed for her room.

* * *

"Feel any better?" Vala questioned.

Katie nodded, still in Vala's arms, and the older woman could feel the girl's posture stiffen in her grasp when her normal disposition returned and she realized exactly what was going on. "Oh God!" She exclaimed, quickly pulling back. "I'm sorry…I just…" Katie had no words and she shrugged, still seated on the floor but slowly rising to her knees.

"That's quite alright. We all need a good cry every once in a while." Vala's calm smile was so mystifying to Katie that she just stared. "Care to help an old woman up?" Vala raised her hands upward and Katie quickly jumped to her own feet in response.

"Yeah, oh sure, sorry." She steadied her balance, but quickly realized Vala hadn't really needed that much help to get up. "And, you're not…old." Katie knew old, she had seen it. This woman was only truly old in her eyes, and as the girl stared into them she caught such a familiar sense of pain from them that she had to break eye contact. She reached to her own eyes to clean her face up a bit as well as deflect from her lapse.

"Aren't you the charmer?" Vala replied and reached out to help Katie with a few stray wisps of hair. "No doubt you got that from Daniel."

"Uh, well…I wouldn't exactly call Dad a charmer." _I'd call him something right about now though_. Katie thought to herself.

"Oh, well, time does tend to change one. Back when I knew him, he was _quite_ the ladies man." Vala's eyes grew wide to emphasize.

Katie burst out with an uncontrolled chuckle. "Dad? My dad? Ha! Well, guess that's how he won my mom over huh?"

Vala cocked her head to the side. "Subtlety isn't your strong suit now is it?"

"What?" Katie feigned innocence.

"Mmm hmm." Vala took a few steps back until the bed hit the backs of her legs and then sat. "Come sit with me for a minute." She patted the space beside her.

Katie wiped her face once more on both sides for good measure before following Vala's request.

"Teal'c tells me you just learned about the Stargate a few days ago. That's a pretty big concept to take in I'd imagine, for someone who hadn't heard of it before. See, I grew up knowing there was a Stargate, so it just seemed like…well it wasn't out of the ordinary." Vala let out a nervous giggle and reached out for Katie's hand. The girl didn't resist, and Vala felt an odd sense of happiness when Katie looked down at Vala's hand. "What else has your father told you about?"

"Well…he explained Pandora's Box…and SG-1, Teal'c…but obviously he left some things out because he never mentioned you…" Katie winced, she had gotten carried away and now had her foot in her mouth.

"No, that's okay, I asked. Besides, I'm sure that's not the only thing he's left out." Vala leaned her head in a questioning matter.

Katie took a deep breath. "Teal'c said you wanted to be my mother." It came out like one word and Vala quickly took a look of shock in the direction of the door, knowing full well that Teal'c was standing guard with the SF.

"Oh he did now did he?" Once again she placed a comforting palm on Katie's cheek. "Well, I can't say he was lying. But circumstances being what they were…" Vala dipped her head towards her lap, it was her turn to fail holding back tears now. "I want you to know, before anything else is said, or done…that I loved you, I still do. And I would have loved nothing more than to have been your mother…but…people…sometimes…"

A sudden scuffle outside the door cut Vala short. Teal'c's voice was evident, booming and dominating…but it was not the only voice recognizable.

The door swung open.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Daniel demanded. Teal'c was close behind and looked directly towards Vala with apologetic eyes.

"I was just talking to Katherine." Vala stated plainly, never moving from her seated position. Daniel did little to intimidate her, and in this particular instance was serving only to rile her anger towards the past.

"Out. Now."

"Dad!"

"Katie, you will stay out of this. This woman…"

"Could have been my mom!" Katie yelled. Her hand clapped over her mouth and a look of shame overcame her. But it was too late.

"What?" Daniel was suddenly much quieter, and far more reserved. He turned towards Vala. "Only you could cause this much damage in thirty minutes."

"Daniel Jackson, it was not Vala Mal Doran who revealed this information to Katie Jackson."

Daniel turned a cold eye on Teal'c. "Please tell me you didn't instigate this Teal'c."

The Jaffa stood taller.

"Teal'c…" Daniel bit his lip, preparing to press further, but he was interrupted again.

"Stop!" Katie stood quickly and stepped forward towards him and away from Vala. "No one has done anything wrong. Why can't you trust anyone? Why can't you trust me?"

"I do trust you. But I don't trust anyone speaking to you anymore without me around. So I believe it is time for everyone to say goodnight and goodbye because Katie will not be available for further conversation unless I'm with her." Daniel turned a cold glare. "Especially not you." He added to Vala whose nostrils flared in response.

"You can't do that!" Katie practically squeaked. Daniel was shocked at her outburst.

"Katie, we'll talk about this later…"

"NO! I'm tired of it! I've learned more from snooping around here the last few days than you've EVER told me. Why?"

"Snooping?" Daniel pressed with his arms crossed.

Vala's voice came in with a slight crack as she too now stood. "Daniel, leave her alone. I don't think you realize how hard this is for her and…"

"And you will stay out of it!"

"Leave her alone!" Katie shouted and stepped between the two.

"Damn it, Katie!" Daniel strode forward and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm doing this for you, there are some things better left unknown."

Katie shrugged his hands off quickly. "Like the part where my mother was a scientist who worked here? Or the part where she looked just like me? Or better yet, why she went by the name Carter instead of Jackson?"

Daniel was floored. "Which one of them told you that?" His voice was almost hysterical, scared.

"Neither. I figured it out on my own. You forgot, Dad, I'm an archeologist too. I dig. Now, tell me what it is you're hiding from me. I'm tired you lying to me. I've never lied to you. Not once in my entire life!"

Daniel's eyes were becoming glassy. He stood there, silent, and none dared to speak again until he would break. "I'd like to speak with my daughter, alone."

Teal'c moved towards Vala and took her by her arm. She looked concernedly towards both the father and his daughter who never looked away from each other, like a bull and the fighter in a motionless battle of will.

The door clicked shut as they exited.

"Katherine…I know with everything that is going on…and all these people, that you want to know more now than ever…but now really isn't a good time. I've told you everything about my job here, and what is going on. Can't that be enough for now?"

"I just want to know about my mother. Please." Katie watched as Daniel turned away from her and his hand rose to his mouth as it often did when he was frustrated. His back was still towards her. "I know your mom died when you were young, but at least you got to meet her. I just want to know what she was like."

"That's a lot to ask right now sweetheart." His voice was very soft, and far away.

"It's because I killed her isn't it?"

Daniel turned back quickly, his eyes wide and bewildered. "Why would you say that?!" He wasn't mad, he was shocked.

"Because you said she died having me. It's my fault. Is that why you don't talk about her to me…because I caused her to die?"

Daniel rushed over and pulled her roughly into his arms because he couldn't get to her fast enough for his own comfort. "No. No. Katie, you didn't kill your mother. I don't blame you for her dying. I never have and I never will. You're the best thing in my life, don't you ever, _ever_ let anyone tell you differently." Daniel was crying now, an emotion that was so unfamiliar to Katie that she too began to choke up once more.

"I just want to know."

Daniel's grip tightened. "Honey, I want to tell you, but…I'm just not ready. Give me some time." He pulled her back and looked in her eyes. "Okay? Just a little time."

Katie dipped her head. "You've had eighteen years Dad. I'm not sure I can wait much longer."

Daniel became slightly off balanced. "Just a little more time. I have to go somewhere tomorrow. You'll be taken care of. It won't be for long. I'll tell you all about it when I get back. I'll probably even need your help translating some things. But you need to get some sleep." Daniel hurried towards the door.

"Please don't push them away. They just wanted to help. They care about you, both of them. I can tell."

Daniel didn't answer. He just hovered at the door.

Dad?" Katie caught him as he opened it.

Daniel sighed. "I'll tell you about Sam then too."

"Who…" But Daniel let the door slip closed as he left.

"Sam?" Katie stood for a moment, staring at the door wondering how for the umpteenth time Daniel had avoided answering her. She shook her head and headed for the washroom to get cleaned up. It hit her on the way out. Katherine Samantha Jackson._ Samantha_. Her mother's name was Samantha…and it had been with her all along.

**

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A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing :D

PS: Reviews are like bribes....more equals quicker writting :D (And in this case, the next chapter is a flashback...hint hint!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

It was as clear as day in his mind. All that had happened. All that had passed. _Everything_ that he had kept from her. Now Daniel was racking his mind for the right images, the right words to describe what it was that she wanted to know without revealing the one thing he was trying to keep from her. The one thing she would never suspect.

* * *

"So…how does it feel?"

"What?"

Daniel grew a faint smirk. "Being back on the team after…well…after running Atlantis."

Sam held her posture as a smidge of regret flitted in her eyes. She had done a good job. And no good job goes unrewarded. Too good a job however, tended to get one replaced by a member of the IOA. "It's a little harder to fall back into than I'd imagined. General O'Neill said it would be, but now I know what he was talking about."

"_General O'Neill_ you say?" Daniel said the name with such an inflection and a mischievous grin that Sam couldn't help but chuckle as the rest of the team now entered the 'gate room. The humorous reaction only led to her holding her hand to her mouth as a bought of coughs emerged.

"You guys ready?" Colonel Mitchell practically bellowed in the cavernous room.

"You're the one who is late you know?" Daniel replied.

Vala entered just behind Cameron, and Teal'c not far after her. "Come on Daniel, we can't all be overachievers like you and Sam!" She mocked. Daniel rolled his eyes. Then Vala turned towards Sam. "Are you alright Samantha? That doesn't sound too good."

Sam finished coughing and waved it off. "I'm fine. Just finishing up a respiratory infection, complements of the people of Earth after a year away."

Vala raised her brow.

"I'm fine! Dr. Lam cleared me. Besides I've been on antibiotics for well over a week."

"Alright then." Vala seemed placated.

Mitchell hadn't stopped grinning since he entered the room and Sam grew a curious stare in his direction. He finally looked at her with a glint in his eye but said nothing. Sam however, had to know. "Cam…what has you so excited about this mission?"

He shrugged and began to smile even more. "Oh, it's nothing, just, I got the band back together. Again!" He sighed as the Stargate began to dial. "Just like old times."

"Don't get too excited." She reprimanded. "It's the last ride for me."

"We'll see."

"Cam…"

"What?"

Sam shook her head. "I'm serious. This is my last team run." She turned her view to the rest of the team as well and added, "I'm serious, I'm going to miss you all, again, but I've got a new job saddled up to start in less than a month."

"We know Sam. But, you know how we love denial." Daniel clapped a hand on her back as the wormhole formed."

"SG-1, you have a go." Landry called down. "And Godspeed."

* * *

"I don't understand. Why would the Ancients hide a device in a body of water?"

"I don't know Sam; the planet doesn't even fit the Ancient profile. The columns we found are written in Goa'uld and their architecture resembles that of Ancient Greek culture. And it even named the planet Delphi, again Greek."

"And again, why is it in the water?" Mitchell broke in.

"You don't think it's anything like the Telchack device, do you?" Sam practically cringed when she remembered the report on that one. Zombies were not on her list of things to deal with today.

Daniel bared his teeth at his own recollection of being held captive in Central America while the key to the fountain of youth mythos did its dirty work. "We'll have to see what Teal'c finds. He should be up soon."

As if on key, Teal'c made a loud splash as he broke the surface of the small body of water that they had been drawn to by an energy signature matching that of Ancient technology.

"What did you see Muscles?" Vala called over the rippling water.

Teal'c huffed a few more times and shook the water from his face before bobbing in place. "It is a device of some two meters by one, and comes to my chest in height." He gave another kick and rose higher in the water for a moment. "It does not appear to be active; no light came from the object."

"Think we can get it out of there?" Mitchell asked.

"That will take some doing Colonel Mitchell. I do not believe we have the necessary equipment."

"Alright, swim back in. Sam, why don't you and Vala go back to the 'gate, see if Landry will spring for a wench?"

Sam nodded. "We'll be back soon. Daniel, why don't you take a better look at those columns? See if you can get a better handle on what this thing is, or why it's here."

"Good idea. You two be careful now." He toyed.

Vala turned up her nose. "We're always careful. It's you boys that start the trouble."

Sam held back a giggle as they proceeded back to the Stargate.

* * *

A few hours passed and Siler had a rather ingenious contraption sent through that would attach to the device and then drag it to shore if it was anchored correctly. A little tying off and the team had it read and Teal'c proceeded somewhat reluctantly back into the water to tie off the mystery device.

The mechanisms of the wench squealed under strain, but with some doing they managed to help it along, and soon the artifact was on the bank of the water, dirt mounded at its sides from where it had etched its way in.

"Definitely Ancient." Daniel quickly surmised.

"But what is it?" Sam added. "These energy signatures are varied." She held her small handheld reader up and ran it over the device. "I've never seen Ancient technology like this. Not even in Atlantis."

Vala approached the other side. "Can you read anything on it Daniel?"

Daniel cut his eyes to the side, then back at the device. "I could…if…"

"If what?" Vala quickly retorted.

"If some of the symbols weren't scraped off."

Cam shifted in his seated position a few feet further back. The mossy ground was cold, but after the helping with the wench, he felt it best to let Daniel do his thing. "Old age?"

"No…more like chiseled I should say…" Daniel furrowed his brow and bent closer. "I can make out some of it though…"

"Go on…" Mitchell pressed.

_"Within is held the end of the beginning, and the beginning of the end." _

"Sounds ominous." Sam held a wary gaze on the device and took a step back.

Daniel continued. _"That which was sacrificed…shall be returned." _

Vala grimaced. "Sacrificed?"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah…but so much is missing, it may have nothing to do with the purpose of the device at all." He stood taller and placed his hands on the small of his back, bending to work out a crick. "The columns all talk about Delphi, and how this Delphi, like the one on Earth, was a place for the oracle. Perhaps it's some kind of…prophecy…or maybe even a predictor of something…its hard to say."

Mitchell had stood once more and approached along the side of Teal'c. "And exactly _why_ would the Goa'uld have their hands on an Ancient fortune teller?"

Daniel shrugged. "The Goa'uld took the Stargate as their own…perhaps they found this device here and tried to use it for their own…it's possible that the water came after the civilization was abandoned…less than likely, but possible."

"So what do we do?" Vala questioned.

Sam took a breath. She would have loved to study the device herself, but she didn't have the time to get involved. Not now. "Take notes on what you've read Daniel, we can pass them on to a research team. We've done what we can."

"Wait just a second…" Mitchell started. "You're telling me that _you_ don't want to stick around and find out what this thing does?"

Sam smiled. "Send me a memo." She huffed at their sad stares. "You guys will probably be the ones called back on this, but I really can't get involved on this one. Sorry." Sam took a short breath and looked back towards the device. Daniel had crouched down at the side of it once more, deep in thought. He probably hadn't heard a word she had said. "Daniel…Daniel, no touching."

"I'm just…" And with those fateful words it began. A bright beam of light shot right through their small crowd and into the water's edge.

"Daniel!" Vala cried out.

He had been thrown back from the device. Teal'c quickly made his way to Daniel's aid. "Daniel Jackson, are you alright?"

The archeologist rubbed his temple with one hand and pushed himself up with the other. "Yeah, I'm fine…I was trying to get a better look at the writing…" He stopped in mid sentence, gaze drawn to the water's edge.

There where the beam had ended stood a woman, dressed in pale pink and blue draped clothing, hair tied with ribbons. Shaking as the water ringed out from around her calves.

"Oops." Daniel whispered.

"Daniel?" Sam prompted, finger hovering over her trigger.

"I don't know. I think she came out of the device…"

The woman began speaking very loudly, and very hurriedly. No one recognized the language, but all turned to Daniel to translate. He too was bewildered as his mine sought over the number of languages within him. He got to his feet with some assistance and made his way to the water's edge, offering is hand to the woman so that she would come closer.

She did not however. She stood, hands now in front of her to beg them to stay back. Sam and Vala lowered their weapons hesitantly, but Mitchell kept his more steadily. He'd seen enough to know that anyone could be a danger. Teal'c was the same.

Daniel was holding his own hands to show that he was no danger to the woman who continued to speak faster and faster. He seemed to have caught onto her language though, because he was now sounding just like her, only slower and more at ease.

Whatever it was that he was saying, it was beginning to work. The woman calmed down, and while still shaking, took Daniel's hand finally and allowed him to lead her to the bank and dry land.

"What's going on Jackson?"

Daniel said something to the woman and turned back towards Cameron. "We may have a problem." Daniel's eyes were wide and tense.

"What did she say?" Sam was reaching down her P-90 once more.

Daniel swallowed hard. "Actually not that much…but enough to make me worry."

"Care to elaborate?" Mitchell asked with a cocked head.

"This is…_Hope_…and she just came out of the Dowry of the Gods."

"The what?"

"Pandora's Box."

Sam's gaze grew even more hollow. "Oh, crap."

_

* * *

_

He found it hard to believe how much he had relieved in that brief walk to his own quarters. His old quarters in fact. Stepping in, he tried to press back the memories that continued to pour into his mind. The suffering that had soon followed, the wars, the sacrifices. Especially the sacrifices.

Daniel sucked in a ragged breath. Katie had survived the first time. But would she make it through a second? Daniel was sure of one thing though, he couldn't live without her.

* * *

**A/N: See…flashback! Although I'm sure it's more questions now than ever before lol. Only a handful of chapters left! The next one is in the works now. Happy New Year to all!!!! God Bless!!!!**

**Reviews are like New Years kisses, oh so sweet!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

Katie never really went to sleep that night. Her mind wouldn't quiet enough so that she could rest. The pitch black room did little to make her feel tired either. The entire base lacked natural light, it was all dark, all the time. She had been left alone in the dark of her room with only her thoughts to keep her company. Thoughts and a name. But nothing more than what she had.

She lay there trying to think about her mother for hours before she told herself to get some sleep; that hearing about her for the first time with a weary mind would only serve to cause her to miss something. She wanted to know everything. She wanted to remember everything. The harder she closed her eyes and the more she concentrated on trying to sleep the harder it became. She tried counting to no avail, tried imagining the mountains full of mist, anything peaceful, but still nothing.

She would fall asleep for about thirty minutes then wake for another hour. The night passed slowly and anxiously as such. But morning came and her stomach was still tight with knots and unrest. It was as if Daniel had just walked out the door and she was waiting for him to come back in. She knew she had to wait, but just one question before he left. One hint at what they would talk about. Just one reassurance that he would truly tell her about her mother for the first time.

She was sitting on the edge of a made bed, fingers drumming in the bedspread. Her legs were clad in ripped jeans that were held together by a strong hope and a long prayer and they swung, heels knocking together, as she tried to release her nerves.

The came the knock.

She jumped up ready to see Daniel entering to say goodbye but stopped short.

"Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Vala?"

The pepper headed woman smiled sweetly back. "Your father left about an hour ago. It took me fifty-nine minutes to get around General Mitchell." Her shoulder was against the slightly parted door as she peered around it.

"He left?" Katie sounded down right offended. "But he didn't even say goodbye."

Vala pushed the door open further with her left arm, letting the view of an SF posted at the door become more clear. "Your father doesn't like saying goodbye unless he has to." Vala's head tipped towards the ground. "And I can't say I blame him. So, are you hungry, or would you like to do something else?"

Katie's tension over finding out about her mother melted away as if it had never existed at the thought of Daniel being God only knew how far away, and he hadn't even said goodbye. Her eyes showed how hurt she was, and Vala continued to patiently hold the door open. It only took another second for Katie to understand why he hadn't said goodbye, and why in his position she wouldn't have either.

"I'm starving." She told Vala with a meek grin, and then followed out the door towards the commissary.

* * *

Delphi was the same as it had been nineteen years before. The only difference was the placement of the artifact better known as Pandora's Box. It had been re-located once more to a makeshift lab that most suitably resembled a large tin yard shed. The team had wasted little time pulling it from its murky depths once more and setting up shop.

The report was still unclear though. How had Pandora's Box begun its vicious cycle once more? There was no activity, human or otherwise on Delphi, they had made sure of it. But the medical reports were clear. People on planets previously affected in great numbers by the plague within were falling ill once more, and dying. And the manor in which they were dying could only be from the Ancient device. Even burying the Stargate would do no good. That thought had been used before, but it still spread. Even Sam hadn't been able to figure out how. They were the Ancients after all, and the device had been made all the more evil by the Goa'uld.

He hadn't even gotten to the building when someone came to meet him.

"Dr. Jackson!"

"That's me." Daniel replied dryly.

"I know, sir, we met a long time ago."

"Oh, sorry…it's been a while."

"Yes, sir, it has."

Daniel looked more closely at the man's face, forties, tall, Air Force by the patches on his uniform. "Grogan?"

A small smile formed on the man's face and Daniel was reminded of the young man, or better yet boy, that he used to be. Daniel frowned. It just went to show how much older he was. "Yes, sir. I hate to rush you, but we've got something new that you need to see."

"Alright." Daniel hustled into the building as quick as he could.

* * *

"So where is Teal'c?" Katie questioned before scooping a mouthful of oatmeal up.

"He went to run some errands for Cam, General Mitchell." She corrected herself. "A bit of a message run you could say."

Katie continued to chew and nodded that she understood.

Vala had already eaten before she came to get the girl and was now rolling an empty glass between her hands, a slight grinding sound against the table. "So, Katherine, or do you prefer Katie?"

She swallowed. "Katie's fine."

"Well then, Katie, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself?"

Katie stared her head cocked to the side. She looked bemused. "I think you know me better than even I do. I'm not sure there is much I could say that you wouldn't already know…"

"Sure there is!" Vala beamed. "I know who you are. That you were twenty-one inches long, seven pounds six ounces, screaming pink when you were born…but I don't know anything about the last seventeen or so years of your life, dear. What made you the beautiful young woman I see sitting before me…with less than ideal taste in fashion I might add."

Katie choked on her orange juice. Then giggled. "Well, for one I'm used to stares about the piercings when I'm around new places, but they all stand for something or someone, just like the ink." She pointed over her back. "But as for the clothes, there aren't exactly malls around where Dad and I usually live. So I make due."

"Completely understandable." Vala gave a strong nod. "Tell me more. Where did you go to school? I understand that all children on Earth do that."

"For the most part…but Dad home schooled me. I got my GED when I was fourteen."

"Is that…?"

"It means I was doing well for someone living all over the world with a father for a teacher." Katie smiled. "But that made it all the easier. I've learned most of what I know from either Dad or living it. And I really do like living it. I've lived in so many places I honestly can't remember them all. And I wouldn't have it any other way." She lifted her spoon to her mouth and thought for a moment. "Well, maybe it would have been nice to have someone else with us."

She had said it to herself, and while Vala was both encouraged and saddened by the statement, so she pretended she hadn't heard it. But she continued on all the same. Asking questions about interests, likes and dislikes, and even boys which Katie found completely amusing having grown up with her father being the most overprotective person on the face of the Earth. But it did bring up an interesting story about a tribal leader who asked Daniel for Katie to marry his son.

* * *

"Oh!" Daniel threw his arm over his nose and mouth as quickly as he could but he couldn't help gagging from the stench. "Where did you find…him?"

"In the lake. We dredged it, found him caught under some old tree remains. Doc estimates he's been dead over a week. Sure smells like it."

"Guess we found out how it activated again. Of course how he got to it is another question. Have you identified where he came from?"

Grogan looked back at Daniel, fear in his eyes mixed with futility. "We're pretty sure he didn't activate the Box Dr. Jackson." He went towards a table away from where the body was being re-covered by a medical officer. He reached down and picked up a bag with something in it. "What do you make of these? We found them on the body."

Daniel reached out and hesitantly took the bag. There was a putrid film inside the bag, but it didn't mare the image of what was within. A pair of dog tags that held a familiar name.

* * *

"So can I ask you a question?" Katie pondered aloud as she and Vala walked the corridors of the SGC together.

"You may ask any question you like. Though I'm not sure I'll be able to answer all of them." She gave Katie a warning glance. Whether or not Vala and Daniel were fighting, she wasn't going to use the girl between them.

"Can you tell me how you and my dad met?"

Vala smiled widely. "That one I can do." She clasped her hands together and pulled them close to her waist line, thinking of just the right words. "Let me see, I met your father about twenty-two years ago give or take. I was stealing his ship!"

Katie's eyes flew open wider than the moon. "His ship?"

"Well, no that's not right. It was the Air Force's ship. But your father was on it."

"You were, _stealing_, a ship?"

"Old job darling, but honesty is the best policy after all. So now that you know about that part I can add that we met again some time later under more…friendly circumstances…got to know each other a little better before I was sent to another galaxy."

"Another galaxy? How did you get back?"

"Well, that is an even longer story, but just to keep things short, I came back somewhat against my will with an army bent on destroying Earth and all the planets allied with it. And then your father and I, and Teal'c, and General Mitchell…and even your mother spent the next year and then some fighting the Ori…led by my daughter."

Katie stopped walking all together. "Your…you have a daughter…who was trying to destroy Earth?"

"I guess she wasn't really mine." Vala spoke back in a sad tone. "I had her. She was my flesh and blood, but the Ori had made her. She grew to be an adult in a matter of days. And in the end…" Vala pressed her lips together. Adria was as fresh on her mind as the day she had been born.

"I'm sorry." Katie whispered, and then put a hand on Vala's arm.

Vala nodded. "Let's talk about something else. How about the time your father and I were stuck together with a pair of Goa'uld bracelets?"

* * *

Daniel looked into the bag and then handed it back to Grogan. "Are you sure it's him?"

"They had to dig, but the DNA matches."

Daniel shook his head. "Captain Norman was the first person taken by Pandora's Box during our time."

"I read the report, sir. What does it mean?"

"It means…that we may be seeing some familiar faces before the world ends." Daniel turned on his heels to escape the smell of decaying flesh. Once back outside he breathed deeply. This changed things. Changed them in ways he couldn't possibly fathom at that particular moment.

Hope had been returned, and then the death had begun. She didn't die though, not then. Not until years after according to the report he had been given. Not natural causes, but nothing related to the box. But the cycle was truly starting all over again.

Return the sacrifice.

Release the plague of suffering upon mankind.

Wait for a sacrifice of unknown quantity to satisfy and to retreat back into nothingness.

* * *

**A/N: According to my outline there are 9 chapters left. The next one is done and will be posted soon.**

**Reviews are like school, wait no they aren't, but I have to go back next week and reviews would make me not so sad about it!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Daniel hadn't been in a hurry in nearly twenty years, at least no hurry like this one. He had the information he needed safely stored on a camera disk, and the smell of the rotting, waterlogged body of Captain Norman stored in his senses for what would probably surmount to eternity. He ignored the astounded faces that watched him pass and studied his feet so that he wouldn't trip over any stones or roots; and so that he wouldn't risk focusing on another thing that was still eating away at him. Pandora's Box had released a prisoner. Only one. The first one. But the Box never did anything it was expected to do.

* * *

Katie and Vala had wound up at the commissary again. A short stint above the surface had made Katie seem a little more at ease, and even Vala admitted that she needed some sunlight. They discussed her world, and what she did there. Katie just stared in wonder at the woman, not only for what she must mean to so many, but for what she could have meant to her. Katie shook her head a small bit to focus on her lunch once more, and to get rid of a tiny nagging ring that wanted to nestle into her right ear.

"So, now you know all about me…for the most part…So why don't you tell me how your father's been these past years?" Katie watched a small trace of pain flitter across Vala's eyes as she asked the question. Whether it was from feeling forced to ask the question, or something dwelling from the past, Katie couldn't tell.

She started with a polite smile before continuing. "Well, Dad's…He…" Katie stopped and furrowed her brow, looking over Vala's shoulder. "He's here."

Vala's eyes became wide before she resettled into her seat, waiting for Daniel to blow up again.

"We need to talk. Now."

Vala rolled her eyes and twisted her torso so as to glare up at Daniel, but before she could say anything the look of fear that she had so rarely seen on his face made her forget her entire planned out speech. "Daniel, what's wrong?"

"Vala, please." He held out his hand to reach for her arm to help, or better yet hurry her up.

"Dad?" Katie stood. "When did you…"

"Katie just finish your lunch and we'll be right back, okay." Daniel's forced smile was anything but comforting. He was trying to make her at ease, she knew. But his sudden repertoire with Vala, and now his sudden insistence that she eat was enough to make her stomach twitch. She nodded as she sat back down.

By that time Vala was up and standing beside Daniel he took her by her elbow, quite gently in fact, and led her out of the commissary and a ways down the hall to avoid a certain eavesdropping blonde.

"Daniel, what has gotten into you?" Vala hissed.

"Look, I know I've been…can we just put everything behind us...for now?" He didn't wait for her to answer, it was assumed that everything would just fall into play and it quickly did. "I just got back from Delphi. They found a body when they dredged the lake. Just one, but…"

"A body?" Vala's hand rose to her lips. "Daniel…"

"It was Captain Norman. The tags and DNA proved it." Daniel took a deep breath and continued one of his more expeditious speeches. "The Box spat him back out, alive they think, but because it was under water, he most likely was caught on debris and drowned…the thing is…"

"It's turning out the sacrifices." Vala concluded.

"We don't know that." Daniel corrected, trying to make it so, and trying not to wish it so at the same time.

"Daniel, there was only one person in it the first time. There's far more than one in there now!"

"That doesn't mean that they will be released, and we can't know either way if it is going to release them or take others."

"But it could…" Vala pressed. "They could come back."

"Just to see it all happen again." Daniel sighed.

Vala took a step closer. "That's not what you're afraid of though."

"Vala…"

She threw a hand up. "Look, whether you want to admit it or not, I know you Daniel. As scared of this plague as you may be, it's not the thing that you drug me out here for." Vala tilted her head to the side and stared down his bastion of misdirection. "It's going to be alright." She nodded, and when he turned his head down and released the tension in his arms she wrapped her own around him. "It's going to be alright."

After a moment's hesitation he held her back.

A small voice brought them back to reality. "Um…Dad?"

"Katie…" Daniel began as he released his grip on Vala. "I told you we would be back."

"I finished my lunch." She replied still looking at the two as if they were conspirators.

"Oh, alright then…um…Vala and I were just discussing…" He looked towards the dark headed woman for help, there were tears in her eyes and he had to look away. "Old times."

"Uh-huh…" Katie nodded and grinned. "Whatever. Um, so, are you _back_ back, as in, for the day, or for good hopefully?"

"For now." Daniel answered and took one more swift glance at Vala. "I think I said something about a talk today, if I'm not mistaken."

A huge smile crossed Katie's face, one Vala had never seen, nor expected to tear so deeply into her heart.

"Yes!" Katie nodded swiftly.

"Okay…let's head to my office." He held out an arm and ushered her down the hall, nodding to Vala as they left.

The klaxons went off, and Katie didn't even jump this time, they were becoming so routine. "Vala?" Daniel called over his shoulder.

"I'll just go and see what that's all about!" She waved and sauntered away with a slight sniffle in her voice.

* * *

Daniel wasn't happy with the setup of the office. Katie could tell by the way he sat off balance on his stool. She could also see his handy work of organizational skills, or whatever you would call them, all around the desk, and on a shelf or two. He was slowly getting it back to the way he liked it.

"So…" Daniel shifted his hands until they were folded on the center desk. Katie was seated across from him like an eager student. "Your mom and I met here…well, actually we met on a planet called Abydos." Daniel tilted his head remembering the event. "It was quite some time ago, but I had lived off world for sometime as you know. She came with a group who was sent to _retrieve_ me."

Katie wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but she shifted in seat and continued to listen intently.

"Sam was a captain then, in the Air Force, just like…" Daniel coughed. "Just like a lot of the other people around here. But she was also an astrophysicist. She knew every single thing about the Stargate. What made it spin. What made it go." Daniel smiled to himself. "She knew a lot about a lot, let's just put it that way."

Katie leaned forward. "Sam?"

Daniel nodded. "Oh, yeah, you never called your mom Samantha. She hated that. It was either Sam, or Colonel when the time came…or Carter." Daniel bit his lip back into his mouth. Things he'd tried to forget were painful to dig back up, no matter how happy the times had been. "Sam Carter…your mom." Daniel huffed, studied his fingertips for a minute, then looked back over his glasses towards Katie. "And asides from being brilliant, she was an amazing soldier as well, a beautiful person inside and out…she was…" Daniel smiled. "She was a lot like you."

Katie blushed, not so much from the complement, but from the sheer knowledge that she was like her mother. "When did you…how long…"

"Let me think…I met your mom about…e-leven years before you were born, twelve?" Daniel bounced his head counting back each year in his mind as he stared at the ceiling.

"How come she didn't change her name?"

"Why would she change her name?" Daniel asked befuddled.

"I mean, why didn't she change her name to Jackson? You're a Jackson, I'm Jackson…" Katie rolled her hands in the air before her.

Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well…see…the thing is…your mom and I weren't married, Katie…We uh…"

"Daniel Jackson!"

Daniel practically fell out of his seat. "Teal'c?"

"Daniel Jackson, you must come now."

"Why didn't you just call me on the…"

Teal'c stood impatiently at the door. "There is someone here who wishes to speak to you. Immediately."

Daniel rolled his eyes back and forth between Katie and Teal'c. "This is important Teal'c, who could possibly…"

"The _general_ wishes to speak to you." The emphasis said enough, and Teal'c merely bowed his head when the understanding dawned across Daniel's face.

"Katie, I'll be back." Daniel rushed towards the door, leaving Katie behind on her stool. "Teal'c, stay with her." He ordered and took off. "And don't play mediator on this one!" He warned as he took off in a lope.

* * *

Working in the mountains and hiking aside, Daniel was out of breath when he turned the corner to the briefing room. Vala was the first person he saw. Her fingers were ringing in the skirt fabric of her dress. Her eyes were both scared and sympathetic, and somehow happy at the same time.

He didn't see the person who had summoned him until after he heard his voice.

"Daniel! What the hell is going on?"

* * *

**A/N: So, I deleted the first version I had and re-wrote the whole thing. I hope it was for the better. Plus being a senior in college sucks. Oh well :D**

**Reviews are like new chapters, you gotta love em!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Daniel?" The man's indignant gaze begged for an answer.

But Daniel had no idea what to say, or better yet where to begin. 'What the hell is going on' had never needed a longer explanation. Not since the discovery of the Stargate itself. A thousand images flashed before Daniel's eyes. A thousand memories that he thought would be the only thing left of the man in front of him now. The strongest was screaming in the back of his head, _you're dead_.

Daniel took a deep breath, looked towards Vala once more, and then back at him. "Jack…"

* * *

"Hello, Teal'c." Katie finally greeted after Daniel had hurried of once more. It was becoming ever more familiar.

"It is good to see you again, Katie Jackson."

The girl's lips curled at his formality. It would take some getting used to. Subconsciously she reached her fingers up to her ear and tugged on the lobe, careful not to rip any piercings. She'd done that before, and it had not been pleasant, but the ringing sensation was back again. "Guess you can't tell me where my Dad just went, so I won't bother asking, don't worry." She gave a little nervous giggle.

Teal'c found his way to the chair where Daniel had been seated, glanced at the books along the desk and then diverted his gaze to the girl in front of him. He felt guilty that he had had so much time with Sam when her own daughter hadn't. In fact, he had spent more years with Sam Carter than anyone, even though he could never tell anyone about it. He had never thought that their lives would have been better on that ship, not until things had gone horribly wrong. "You are becoming familiar with the protocols of this base very quickly." He mused.

"Apparently it runs in the blood." Katie grinned widely. "I guess it just…I don't know, dreaming big that she would have been or done something really neat…but I mean…I never could have imagined that _my_ mother, let alone my dad too…You all did the most amazing things I could ever have dreamed of."

A faint glimpse of a smile crossed Teal'c's features. "Indeed we did. But everyone has their time and purpose."

* * *

"Yes, I'm Jack…but now that I'm looking a little closer, who are you exactly?"

"No, Jack, it's me…"

Jack wrenched his neck back to get a better look at the aged version of his friend standing in a state of shocked bewilderment before him. "I hate to tell you this, but you don't look so good."

Daniel shook his head and pulled off his glasses. "Thanks…I uh…"

A clap of hands drew both men's attention to the side where Vala was awkwardly swaying from heel to toe. "General O'Neill, I must say we did _not_ expect to be seeing you so soon!"

Jack looked at her like she was cracked. "Yes, you've said that once already. And I would normally never say this to a lady, but you're looking a bit…"

"Old?" Vala smiled and tilted her head girlishly to the side. "Well, see that's the thing, I am."

"Vala, maybe now's not the best time to…" She caught Daniel's eyes as he shook her head and she bit her lip and walked over to stand beside him.

"Okay, sorry that took so long…what exactly…Whoa!"

Jack spun around to where he expected Landry to be appearing from, but instead was in for yet another shock. "Mitchell?" he grunted with a bit of a lump growing in his throat. Had it not been for the name tag and without a closer look he would have missed it completely.

"Sir?!" Cameron stammered, then looked helplessly towards Daniel.

"Okay, why don't we all sit down and talk about…"

"Daniel! Under ten words, now!"

Daniel closed his eyes together tightly, then opened them again. "You died nineteen years ago. Welcome back, Jack!"

* * *

"Are you feeling well Katie Jackson? Your mood appears to have changed rather abruptly." Teal'c's concern was plain on his face. Katie realized it was becoming easier to read his emotions than it would appear at first glance. Just the hint of a raised brow, or a slump in posture could say so much.

"Oh, no…I mean yes, I'm fine." She sighed rather a rather relaxed little sigh, then stood up from her seat and began to saunter around the office. She turned back to Teal'c as she made her way. "My dad, he just told me about my mom."

Teal'c sat a little straighter in his seat. It wasn't a trick to get him to tell her things. She seemed, at peace. Daniel had definitely told her something. The disposition she held now suited her much better than the one that he had met her under. This was the real Katie Jackson. And then Teal'c realized why he was here with her now and his shoulders squared. She might not be for much longer.

"What has Daniel Jackson told you of your mother aside from the fact that she served here?" He inquired.

Katie's eyes were clouded as they peered at the knickknacks and books around the area. "Samantha Carter…My mom" She corrected herself with a proud grin. "She was a friend of yours. You all worked together here for years. She understood the technology behind the Stargate. She was a hero. My mom."

"Indeed she was." Teal'c agreed with a small smile of his own.

"Just, there's one thing I don't get." Katie stopped in her tracks and pivoted on her toes. "Dad said that they weren't married."

"Who was not married?" Teal'c pressed.

"Him and my mom, Sam." Katie shrugged. "I mean, it's no big deal but…"

"And yet there is something you wish to know on the subject." Teal'c thought aloud.

"I heard my Dad talk about his 'wife' before." Katie's eyes narrowed. "I mean, eavesdropping aside, I've heard him use the term 'wife' far more than once in my lifetime." Teal'c moved as if he was about to speak but Katie kindly raised a hand to stop him. "I understand if he loved her, same as a wife, or if they were married without the civilities of it all…but this was different. I know my father, better than anyone. If he was talking about a wife, then he had a wife…even if that…wasn't my mom…" Katie pulled up her nose, surprised her words had led her to this place, but it was making some sense. At least with what little information she had. She had a great memory. She could remember her father speaking to elders, or other archeologists when explaining ancient marriage ceremonies…and how he himself had had one. Eavesdropping proved its purpose. Katie sucked in her breath. "He was married!"

Teal'c stood from his seat. Questioning his own words before he could speak them, he knew the situation at hand was far more dangerous to the web they had weaved than one small truth that would one day come to light no matter what. "Yes."

"But not to my mother?" Katie shook her head.

"Daniel Jackson was married before he met your mother, to a woman named Sha're. However, she died, only a few years after we became friends." Teal'c retraced his words. He had revealed everything, and nothing at the same time. He hadn't corrected the incorrect, merely shed light on what was no harm.

Katie felt her heart sink. Why had Daniel never told her this? That explained a lot. His protectiveness to some degree. Why he hadn't married again. Then she felt a little queasy. Her father had been through too much, and she was beginning to regret being so presumptuous.

* * *

"Jack, are you alright?"

Jack scrubbed his hands through his hair before lifting his head up from the desk before him. It hadn't taken much more to convince him to sit down after finding out that as far as the world had been concerned, he'd been dead for almost two decades. Daniel explained why his last memories before finding himself on Delphi were of being in Carter's old lab with Pandora's Box. How they hadn't understood that it was still active, and that Jack had unwittingly become the second sacrifice. A sacrifice all considered being non-returnable. "Daniel, I just found out I've been dead. And that you're even older than me now…give me a second okay?"

"We don't have that many seconds to spare, Jack. I'm sorry." General O'Neill sat up a little straighter at Daniel's words. It was odd seeing Mitchell, aged, and in his old seat. It was even more surreal seeing an aged version of Daniel and Vala seated across from the table, staring at him like a ghost.

"What do you mean?"

"The only reason you're back is because the Box has started again. We've already lost two worlds to plague, and it seems another four to five are infected."

"Oh jeez…" Jack uttered under his breath. This day just kept getting better and better.

Then something dawned on him. He looked around the room. "Is Carter working on it? I told Teal'c to go get her too…" Jack's voice trailed off and his eyes widened. Reading Daniel wasn't something he ever expected he would learn to do. Not when they had met on that first mission to Abydos. It was amazing how quickly their rapport had grown though. But the look on Daniel's eyes paired with the way Vala and Cam's were quickly downcast made his heart forget to beat. "Daniel, where's Sam?"

Daniel winced and turned away.

Never one to show weakness, Jack's face became stern. It made it easier to control the tremble he felt growing within him. "Mitchell!"

"I'm sorry, sir…"

Daniel turned back quickly. "She's gone, Jack." Their eyes met. "She's gone."

Jack fell back into his chair. Breathing, what was that again? "How?" He whispered.

"Same as you." Vala injected.

Jack thought for less than a second. "Then get her out of that damn thing! Why didn't you get her out before? Hell, why didn't you get me out before now!?"

Daniel's fists balled on the table. "It doesn't work that way, Jack!" He flattened his palms on the desk. "I'm sorry. But it doesn't work that way. The only way to get people out, is for the plague to start again. From what we've seen, it takes thousands of deaths to get the sacrifices out. It took two worlds to be wiped from existence just to get you back, and quite frankly, we didn't think it would happen. Pandora's Box wasn't closed for nearly another six months after it took you."

"What took you so long?" Jack grunted.

"Sam…she had her reasons…but…even then we weren't sure it would work. We thought it was a miracle that it did…"

"Daniel, for God's sake…" Jack shook his head.

"Sam sacrificed herself. Every single one of the sacrifices before had been unwilling, or not known what was happening. Captain Norman, you, not to mention two scientists and an SF!" Daniel was beginning to turn red. "Sam knew what she was doing. And she had every reason to want it to end. So against orders, she sacrificed herself." _To save her daughter_. Daniel thought to himself. _And yours_. And with that thought Daniel bit his bottom lip and stood abruptly. "She wouldn't want all those people to die just to get her out, and neither would you. The only thing we can do is find a way to shut it off once and for all. Before we end up on the other end of its rage."

He didn't know what was driving him, but Daniel quickly realized that his feet were walking him straight out of the briefing room.

Jack was without any other thoughts at the moment. Too many were clouding his head. The loudest one screaming that Sam was dead, and yet she wasn't. But there was no way to get her back. It seemed like less than thirty minutes ago he had been standing right beside her. Hoping that this Pandora's Box was something they could easily fix, as easily as anything they had ever fixed before, and then they could go. Sam could get her new position, and he could be on his way to retirement and other things he was looking forward to. With her. He stood up. "Daniel, where are you going?"

"I have to check on my daughter!" There was a bite in his retort, and it hurt. Jack didn't know why, but he felt it was supposed to.

Daniel was gone now, and Jack was standing there, Mitchell and Vala still seated, still staring at him.

"Daughter?"

Mitchell choked on his air and stood. "I have to get back to work, I need to phone the President and get him apprised of the situation." He put down his finger that he had been illustrating the air with and aimed it towards his office where he quickly found himself.

Jack gulped at the awkwardness of the situation, stuck between grief and shock. Vala was still at the table staring. "Daughter?" He asked again.

Vala gave him the strangest look. She was staring right in his eyes. "So much like her father." She mumbled to herself.

"What?"

Vala shook herself and stood. "Oh, sorry. Yes. Katherine. She's a lovely thing. I think you'll get along just splendidly." She smiled big again, and something in it told Jack it was fake. Special Ops weren't needed to read that. Vala made her way around the table, taking a detour to get out of the room. She was standing by Jack now and she placed a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm really sorry about Samantha. You'll have to forgive Daniel though…it's just…we've all had to live without the two of you for quite some time now. So, I think you can maybe see how this is affecting him as well." She bit her lip. "If you need anything, I'll be around until we get this settled."

That was odd. Vala comforting him like that. Taking control of the situation in a manner he'd never heard of her doing before. It was till her no doubt, but something was very different besides the way time had left its mark on her. A daughter, was it her daughter as well? She seemed attached to the girl just from the way she said her name. How old was she. Sam is gone.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm closing in on the end now :) **

**Reviews are like shoes, I get them and I squee....OMG SHOES/REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Katie!"

"Yeah?" The girl's blond head popped up from the other side of the counter sized desk.

"What are you doing?" Daniel cocked his head to the side, slowly making his way around to the hidden side of the office.

"Oh!" She smiled and looked back down, and Daniel was quickly able to see where she had been. "Teal'c and I were looking at star charts. There was a whole mess of them up here, and I asked…" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Katie Jackson is nothing if not persistent." Teal'c remarked from his cross legged position on the floor, encircled in computer printouts of the various systems they had once visited long ago.

"That she is." Daniel replied. He turned to his daughter who was standing staring at him, a playful smile lighting her face, and a twinkle in her eyes. Her eyes had always been a painful reminder. "Jack's in the briefing room."

Katie raised her brow. "Who?"

Still looking at her, Daniel smiled sadly, then turned down towards Teal'c. "I think you may be the best person to talk to him right now. He just found out about…almost everything."

Teal'c knew what that meant. He bowed his head, then quickly rose and proceeded out of the room with efficient grace after resting a hand on Katie's shoulder.

"Who is Jack?" She asked Daniel again once Teal'c was gone.

Daniel's mind had been racing over plans the whole way down, and none seemed appropriate. But if he was going to keep things running smoothly, he had to start somewhere. 'Tell as much as you can without spilling the beans' seemed to be the best plan. "Jack was…is a very good friend of mine." Daniel started before crouching down towards the images on the floor. It took more effort than it had in previous years and his bones cracked and popped on the way to his new seated position. Katie just plopped right back down.

"What did he just find out about?"

Daniel picked up a chart. Abydos was on that particular image. He hadn't heard her question. She looked at the picture in his hand.

"Teal'c said that was where you met Mom." Daniel nodded slightly. "And Sha're." She added.

An 'o' on his lips, Daniel dropped the image from between them. "Who?"

"Teal'c told me about Sha're. Don't be mad at him, I pushed." She put both her hands up innocently. "I was talking about you not being married to Mom, and how you had talked about having a wife, and I think it was a bit of a slip up, but, anyways…Dad I'm really sorry." She leaned her head to the side. "Why didn't you ever tell me about her either?"

"Sha're?" Daniel questioned.

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I mean, Teal'c told me how much you loved her. She sounded like an amazing woman."

Daniel nodded this time, and his hand quickly covered his mouth and nose. It was all too much for Daniel. Katie thought it was the memory of Sha're whom Teal'c had told her about so recently, and she berated herself for having brought up the subject. She had no idea that Sha're's face had been the straw that broke the camel's back. The thought of Jack in the briefing room, having left the SGC behind, Vala, everything…it was all too much.

"Dad." Katie called his name in sympathy before scooting over on her knees and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Daniel quickly grabbed her close, tucking his head around hers. "It's okay Dad. I'm here."

But for how much longer?

* * *

When Daniel had finally allowed himself some composure, and the two of them had cleaned up the mess of charts in the office, Katie and he went to find Vala. Katie just wasn't sure why.

"Vala, can I ask a favor of you?"

"That depends Daniel…got any priceless goodies hidden away?" A devious smile crossed the older woman's face and Katie couldn't help but giggle. That was the old Vala. Not the Vala she knew. The one who had asked her to keep her current purpose in life a secret until she was ready to tell Daniel herself.

"Even better." Daniel mocked. "I have keys to the cell I'm going to lock you in if you don't."

Vala smiled and rolled her eyes. "Just like old times." She walked over to Katie and put a hand on her shoulder. "You see what I had to put up with for over three years?"

"Try eighteen." Katie retorted.

"Girls." Daniel interrupted. They both smiled at him.

"Vala, I think now might be a good time for Katie to meet Jack. What do you think?"

Vala's eyes grew wide. "Daniel you can't be serious! The man's been through…" She turned to Katie before she said too much, then back towards Daniel with a calmer disposition. "Are you sure now is the right time for that?"

"Now is as good as any at the moment."

Vala stole another quick glance at Katie. "Katherine darling, would you excuse your father and I for just one second?" The agreed and Vala grabbed Daniel by the elbow and quickly lead him out into the hall where she laid into him. "Have you lost your bloody mind?" She hissed.

"No, I think I may have found it."

"Daniel! He is going to realize who she is. I mean she looks just like Samantha! Not to mention she has his eyes."

"And Jack isn't going to notice that. At least not yet."

"Come again?" Vala's whole body shook with the question.

"Jack is at that point of cold shock. When something like this hits him, he blocks out everything else. Trust me. I've known the man longer than anyone else. Right now he's so focused on Sam being gone, that even if she herself walked in the room he probably wouldn't notice."

"And by she herself you mean her little clone in there?" Vala pointed to the room beside them.

Daniel pressed his lips.

Vala threw up her arms. "Alright." She admitted slight defeat. It was, after all, up to Daniel. "But what happens when he starts to snap out of it and realizes what's going on?"

"I'm hoping by that point that everything will be straightened out."

Vala lifted her chin. "You've got a plan in that head of yours don't you?"

The look on his face said he did. And in fact, Daniel's plan was to let Katie get to know Jack, before Jack really got to know Katie. It may be easier to finally admit the truth, if the truth wasn't that far away.

* * *

"Just don't mention your mother." Daniel reminded her.

Katie gave an exasperated eye strain to Daniel. "Okay Dad, jeez. I got it. He's in a bad way. What I don't get is how this guy got out of the box." She added in Vala's direction. The older woman was standing behind them both, uncharacteristically quiet and with a rather perturbed glare on her face, directed obviously towards Daniel.

"We're working on that." Daniel muttered and pushed open the infirmary door and stepped in, Katie taking the door behind him and staying out of view as Vala walked up between them. It didn't take long for Daniel to figure out where Jack was. The complaining led the way.

"Teal'c, I don't need to be in here. They already said I'm fine."

"They said that you were well but still required observation, O'Neill. You must stay here for the time being."

"Well it's nice to know you haven't changed." Jack grumbled.

Trying not to laugh to himself about the timing, Daniel pulled the curtain back from the hospital bed where the commotion was coming from. Jack was sitting up on top of the bed clothes in a pair of infirmary issue scrubs. His ill timed humor in full force as he tried to stuff the pain inside away. The look in his eyes told Daniel differently, and he decided to proceed with his plan. "You say that as if change is a bad thing." Daniel quipped.

Jack tilted his head to the side. "In your case Daniel, I'm not quite sure yet. Does bitterness come with old age? Because I use to think it was just me."

Daniel clasped a fist over his heart. "I've gotta say, this is what I've missed for the last two decades."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Is there something you forgot to say? You were in such a rush."

"Actually, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Jack racked his brain lightly and remembered the reason Daniel had left the room. He was trying to shake the image of Sam from his mind as the young blond was ushered around the half opened curtain by Vala. The shade of her hair did little to remove the brief image of Sam from his head, but he let it slip from his conscious as wishful thinking.

"Hi." Jack greeted rather bleakly.

"Jack, this is my daughter Katie. Katie, this is General Jack O'Neill. We worked together for a long time, and he was…he is…a very good friend of mine."

"General O'Neill." She gave a brief glance towards Teal'c as well. "Hi Teal'c." Katie smiled politely at the man in the bed again and the hospital lighting caught the gem in her nose. She'd pulled her hair in front of her ears, but her nose was a lot harder to hide.

Jack caught the sight of it quickly and his hand rose to his own nose instinctively as he replied. "Jack's fine."

The girl straightened when she realized he was staring at her nose ring and proceeded to push her hair behind her ears just to spite him. Having been preoccupied with sending Teal'c an 'it's okay I have a plan' face, Daniel's wave from behind Katie caught Jack too late as the General slid his hand behind his head as if he were stretching. But his brown eyes still widened at the sight of her bedazzlements.

"Jack." She nodded.

This was awkward.

"So, Daniel's told me nothing about you. But, then again I haven't been around too long. Alien gadgets and all. Guess you know all about those huh?"

Katie shook her head. "Not really. I just found out about this place about a week ago."

"Keeping secrets Daniel?" Jack called behind the girl.

_You have no idea_. He thought to himself. "Actually I've been gone from the SGC pretty much her whole life so there was no reason to tell her. Teal'c and Vala just got back too." Vala grinned nervously from the back row.

But Jack was staring at his feet again. It was working. Daniel was slightly amazed that it was, but grateful at the same time.

"Is that Dr. Jackson?" A voice called from across the infirmary.

"Yes?" Daniel turned so his face could be seen. Who could be looking for him in here?

"Dr. Jackson! I'm Dr. Novell. Could I speak with you for a moment?"

Daniel put a hand on Vala's shoulder before he backed out so that she would watch Katie. "Is this about Jack?" He whispered to the doctor. He was a small man, reddish hair that was thinning on top.

"No, no. General O'Neill is in the same health as he was when he entered the box from what the records show. No, I'd like you to come over here please." He motioned for Daniel to follow. Soon they were at the side of another bed on the other side of the ward. "This is Sergeant Landon. He came in complaining of dizzy spells and a headache this morning. Now he can't even sit up. And over there…" He pointed to a woman in another bed. "That is Dr. Tabitha Espinosa, she works in the language department. She had different symptoms when she came in, nose bleed and nausea, but she's now in the same condition as Sergeant Landon." The Dr. walked away, and Daniel followed after a glance back at the two patients.

"This is what happened last time too."

"I thought you'd recognize it." Dr. Novell replied gravely. "And before you ask, no, neither of them have been off world."

"Damn it." Daniel cursed under his breath, the gazed to where he could see Katie, staring at the catatonic man she had no idea to be her real father. "I don't know what to tell you Dr. Novell, we're working on it, but this time it's far more progressive in nature…"

"You're right about that Dr. Jackson. We just got word after you returned earlier. The planet designated as P3R-782 showed no life signs upon check-in." The Dr. turned his head down in defeat but raised it quickly with more news. "However, I've also just found out that two hours after General O'Neill's appearance, the box released an SF and a scientist who were taken shortly after he was."

Daniel closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "Is there anything else?"

The man shook his head even though Daniel wouldn't be able to see it. "Not yet." No truer words had been spoken, except for secrets.

After he heard the doctor walk away, Daniel opened his eyes, and turned towards Katie again. Jack was obviously in a non-responsive state. Daniel's gut wrenched at the thought that the only thing going his way was possibly more hurtful than anything else going on. "Katie." He called.

She turned and saw him nod to come on. "Bye, Jack." She muttered, then turned and left with Vala at her side.

* * *

**A/N: Not sure if that really got us any further to where we were going or not, but the next chapter is one you've been waiting for, I'm trying to get it up ASAP but I do have a few research papers in the works too. **

**Reviews are like Valentines, each one can make you smile a new smile :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Three days passed. Three whole days. The world didn't end. The world didn't do much of anything. The Box didn't stop though. Another planet succumbed to its poison. The infirmary became a little more crowded at the SGC. And one more scientist was expelled. That left one SF. And one mother. A mother who had died to stop the plague from taking the life of her newborn, and infected daughter.

* * *

Jack had stayed in the infirmary under orders. He saw the scientist who had been taken by Pandora's Box lying in his own infirmary cot. But Daniel, who had come by twice a day, every day, like clockwork, informed him it was no reason to get his hopes up. Jack had been forced to agree that as soon as they could find the way to stop it, they would have to act; no matter what would remain lost.

On the third day, the doctor informed Jack that he was being released. Jack got up from his bed and changed into a pair of the newer and less comfortable BDUs. His home was gone, sold long ago. His title gave him no rights anymore. And his life seemed even more dismal than when he had first met Daniel.

Jack let out a sigh.

"How's it goin', sir?" Mitchell winced as he entered the infirmary, Jack's jagged stare could still stop any man in his tracks. "Bad question, sorry."

Jack waved it off. "Boys in Washington decide what they're going to do with me?"

"Actually, no. They're still working on the bigger picture and what to say to the public when this thing breaks."

Jack narrowed his gaze and lifted is chin. "So…the Stargate is still a secret?"

"For the most part. Another handful or two of governments have been informed, as well as some other divisions of our own, but as far as the general population goes…aliens yes, Stargate no." Cameron ended with is hands clapping together like a shut book.

"Aliens." Jack mumbled. "Well, _General_ Mitchell. It seems I've been released from your fine infirmary, and yet I have no place to go."

"Oh, right! That's why I came down here. I thought I'd take you myself."

"And where might you be taking me?"

"To your quarters. We got them set up just the way you like them."

* * *

Mitchell led Jack to his new room. The original commanding General's head would snap to something new every so often, but for the most part it was obvious that he was still lost deep in his own thoughts. Cameron knew better than to ask. He hadn't known O'Neill like the rest of SG-1 had, but they had said enough on late nights on far away worlds. They would tell stories and talk with each other about how missions reminded them of other missions with the then Colonel. It was better not to ask.

Inside the cell-like quarters, Mitchell hovered in the doorway as Jack stepped in. "If you need anything, you know where the phone is. There's an SF posted out here whenever Katie is in her room, feel free to send him on errands, she doesn't misbehave."

"Katie?" Jack was staring at something that sat on the nightstand.

"Uh…yeah…Daniel's daughter." Cam rolled his eyes since Jack's back was turned. He wasn't sure if lying to a superior officer counted now that they were technically the same rank.

Jack turned. "Oh, yeah…with the…" Jack waved his hand around his nose and ears.

"She's got a tattoo too." Cameron added with a nod. "At least the one I've seen."

Jack's eyes bugged a bit. "Little Miss Jackson."

Mitchell swallowed hard as Jack turned back to the nightstand. "Oh, um…I took that out of storage. Thought you might like to have it. Your other things are…well, with everything that happened…we might could find some things…" Jack wasn't really listening and Cameron was glad. He didn't want to explain the details of selling both he and Sam's things that didn't have extreme sentimental value. Or the part where Daniel had sold off all of his things as well. It was like there was no trace of any of them left at all. Not until now. "I'll let you have some time." He added, then shut the door as he left.

Jack continued to stare, then reached down and picked up the cigar box from the nightstand. He'd kept it in his locker the entire time he'd worked at the SGC. It had been in his desk in Washington, waiting to come home when he finally got to. No telling who had brought it here. He sat down and remembered he was going to take it to the cabin. His cabin had probably been sold too he realized. One more stab. He didn't feel it though.

What he did hear was a knock at the door. "Mitchell, whatever it is…"

"No, it's uh…it's Katie." A girl's voice called with an awkward echo.

Jack slumped his shoulders, then headed to the door. When he opened it his breath caught short again at the flash of her blond hair. Then he reminded himself that it was all in his head like so many other things these last few days, he studied the rest of her appearance with quick military precision. Her hair had a lot of tiny braids and the top half was pulled back. Her ears had been attacked by a mad piercing gun and one other stud had found its way into her nose. No ink, but Mitchell hadn't said where to look, and Jack quickly imagined the youthful habit of too low rise jeans and too short t-shirts. Her clothing was interesting as well. Cargo shorts, hiking boots and a double layer of tank tops, the outer one practically shredded. "Can I…help you?"

She looked uneasy. "Just wanted to say hi, seeing as we're neighbors and all." She nodded her head with a bounce and gestured towards her own room.

"Hi."

"Okay. Bye." She turned around towards her own door where an SF was, as already mentioned, taking his position.

"Wait a minute. Katie right?"

She spun around, her hair lifting in the air just enough for Jack to catch sight of the tattoo, or what was showing of it. Shoulder tattoo near the blade. Ouch. "Haven't changed it since we met." She replied casuallly.

Jack straightened at her remark.

The girl grimaced. "Sorry, yeah. Something wrong, Jack?"

"No." He shook his head.

"Okay then." Katie took a step back. "See you around…"

"Actually!" Jack stopped her. And with that, Daniel's plan was foiled. Had he known where Cameron intended to put Jack. Had he walked Katie to her room instead of letting her go on his own while he researched the last passage on the Box and had a meeting with Vala and Teal'c. But instead, fate took another one of her crazy turns. "Can we talk?"

* * *

Jack's room looked quite similar to her own. A little neater, but that was about it. Katie caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye as Jack pulled a little steel chair from the wall closer to the bed and indicated it as her seat. She cautiously took her seat, not sure what to say to Jack. Her father had told her not to mention her mother. Apparently her parents had been quite close to this man. She, however, wasn't certain about him yet. He seemed very far away.

"So, Jack, what did you want to talk about?" She began, and watched as he considered seating himself but took to strolling around the room instead. He reminded her of a predatory animal, or an anxious dog. Either way she felt uneasy, like she might say something to make him feel worse than he obviously already did.

"You know, I'm not really sure…" he tried to smile. He looked older, but not as old as her dad.

"Okay…" Her brow furrowed.

"I mean." Jack stopped pacing. "See, it's just, I never pictured Daniel being a father, much less a dad."

Katie leaned forward. "Aren't those the same thing?"

"Well, yeah, but no." This man was by far the most confusing person she had ever met. "I mean, he's your father…but he acts like it."

"That's what fathers do." She replied. "I'm the kid, he's the dad." She waved her hands over each other. "That's how it works."

Jack let out a sharp breath. "Never mind." He shook his head and caught the strange look on her face but tried to ignore it. "So," he began again. "Katie…Jackson…what can you tell me about the last eighteen years? I have to admit I haven't been paying much attention to your old man, and quite frankly you're the only person I can look at without feeling completely out of place."

"Come again?" She pressed.

Jack finally stepped to the side of the bed, and sat down, scrubbing his hands over his face and back through his hair before looking at her sincerely. "I know he's Daniel, and Teal'c looks pretty much the same, but…I can see it in their faces, and I'd rather not."

"Oh." Katie bit her lip. "I don't know much."

"Hey, you're a Jackson!" He corrected her. "I'm sure you're just full of useless factoids."

"Useless?" She sat back and crossed her arms.

"I mean…you know…" Jack looked slightly cross. "Can you just tell me about the last eighteen years, highlights would be nice?"

"Jack, I'd love to be a help. I really would. But my dearly beloved father never mentioned the Stargate, SG-1, or even…you…for the last eighteen years. We've lived dig site to dig site. I haven't been in the States since I was born. I'd say if anything, you and I are pretty even on the 'what's been going on front'."

"What about your mom? Does she know what's been going on? She seems pretty in the loop."

Katie's eyes shot open. Her father strictly explained not to mention her mother. How could he not have told Jack though? "You know my mom?" She replied casually, though anyone who really knew her would have seen the fear in her face.

"Yeah, I met Vala a long time ago."

Katie let out a sigh of relief and gave a small grin. "Vala's not my mom." And then something struck her. "Why would you think that she is?"

"I just assumed…that, I mean she and…boy." Jack winced. "Sorry, I missed a lot."

Katie was a little weary. Vala and her father? Thinking about it, it didn't seem that far fetched. But when? Before her mom? Would have had to have been wouldn't it? Unless…no. Katie shut the idea out. She knew one thing, that would never have happened. "That's okay. Heck, I didn't even know about my mom for the longest…time." She could have kicked herself. This guy was a general, and she could be slipping him information the whole time.

"Why is that?" Jack asked earnestly.

A sad wave drew Katie's whole posture down along with her face. "She died. When I was really little."

Jack looked away, somewhere between embarrassment and empathy. His eyes caught the cigar box beside him. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

"It's okay." She whispered. He heard her cough to clear her throat and probably prevent herself from getting emotional. "So, what's in the box?"

The phrase sounded oddly familiar, but Jack just looked back at her. "This old thing?" She nodded. "Just some pictures and stuff. Mitchell apparently has a predisposition to hanging on to old junk."

"What kind of pictures?"

"You know, I haven't seen 'em in a while. You wanna take a look with me?"

"Why not?" Katie got up from her chair and sat beside Jack on the bed with the cigar box between them. Jack felt strangely at ease by the girl. As Daniel's daughter he already felt like an uncle to her.

"Let's see…" Jack opened the lid and began to shuffle through the contents. There were a few newspaper clippings on the top, then a photograph. "Hey, look at this!" He pulled it out and handed it to Katie as a grin spread on his face at her own expression.

"Oh my God! Is that Dad?" There was Daniel, caught off guard, wearing a bandanna on his head with his glasses off and dirt smudged under one of his eyes.

"Hard to believe he was ever young?" Jack mocked.

Katie looked at him with a wide grin. "No, I mean…well, yeah but…see we don't have any pictures, at all…so this is so weird!"

"No pictures?" Jack seemed confused. Daniel had always been quite the camera predator in the days he remembered.

"Well, he has some of me growing up, but with traveling around and everything, there aren't any of him or anybody else." She explained matter-of-factly.

Katie handed it back and Jack dug in again, he flipped past an image of a young boy but Katie stopped him. "Who is that?"

Jack closed his eyes for a minute but flipped back and pulled out the picture, handing it to Katie. "That was my son, Charlie. He died before you were even born."

Katie gave Jack a hurt glance of compassion. "I'm sorry. He looks an awful lot like you." She added.

Jack nodded. "He was a good kid." Then placed the image back in the box and did a little more shuffling. Then he found something that made his stomach lurch. Something he could never see again without a false image or in a memory. A picture he had hoped and prayed would never share the same fate as the one of Charlie. An image of someone he loved, but no longer had. Granted it was a group picture, but still. Jack pulled the picture out, and sat the box beside him. "Here's the crown jewel."

Katie leaned closer to Jack to get a view as he held it close to himself. There were four people in the picture. Teal'c was the easiest to spot with the gold symbol flashing on his forehead. Aside from hair, he really had not changed that much. Then, to Teal'c's left she saw her father quite easily as well, his glasses in place. On his other side was a young blond woman. A blond woman who looked just like her. Katie took a short breath but Jack didn't quite hear it as he studied Sam's face and his own younger image with still brown hair on her left.

"Who is that?" Katie asked. Then she watched Jack draw his finger over the image before passing it to her. His finger had glided right over the woman, and in that instant Katie knew she didn't need his answer.

"That's Sam Carter…she was a member of SG-1, with me and your dad and Teal'c." She saw Jack blink fiercely and then look away.

"Mom…" She whispered.

She felt the whole bed jerk and Jack turned abruptly back towards her. "What?"

She looked at him innocently, her brown eyes shinning from the slight amount of tears that formed as she stared at her mother's face for the first time. But when she closed them Jack felt like he was falling off of a building. It wasn't wishful thinking. She looked like Sam. Just like her. Now she was speaking again but Jack barely heard the words. "Dad said not to say anything…" She shrugged. "But you brought her up so I thought it would be okay…"

"No." Jack nodded, but his eyes were burning her. "That's okay." What had she said? This was Sam's daughter. Sam was dead, but this was her daughter. How long had Sam been dead? His mind was filled suddenly with questions that he somehow knew she couldn't answer.

"I'm sorry," Katie stood, still clutching the image. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just go. Here." She pushed the picture out towards him."

"Why don't you hang on to that?" Jack insisted as he stood up quickly.

"No, I really shouldn't." She shook her head and tried again to put the picture in his hands.

But he pushed it back. "You should have a picture of your mother." He replied. "You know, you look almost exactly like her."

Her expression hiccupped. She looked down at the picture in her hands and held it gently. "Most people leave out the almost." She chuckled.

Jack reached out and lifted her chin. "I can see a big difference." He said, starring into her eyes. His hand moved to her shoulder and he guided her to the door.

"Thank you, Jack. I've…you know I've never see her before now. You're the first person who ever showed her to me."

Jack fought all the words that were screaming in his head. "Glad I could help." He had to fight even harder when she reached out and hugged him around his waist. He held her back, perhaps a little too hard; and then awkwardly released his grip, watching to see her off to her own room. Then Jack slammed his own door shut and set off through the halls of the SGC to find Daniel.

Katie had been staring at the picture of her mother when she heard the door slam in the hallway. She'd been studying Sam's eyes, unable to see them in enough detail from the small size of the image and the shadows that had been in the image. But something had seemed wrong.

* * *

"_Doctor_ Jackson…" A voice grated viciously from the entrance to the briefing room.

"Jack?" Daniel replied, mouth in an 'o' and brows above his slipping glasses.

Vala and Teal'c were at the table as well, but Mitchell was missing.

"I just had an interesting talk." Jack said with a twisted humor.

"With?"

"Well, she says her name is Katie Jackson, but I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out why Sam would give her _that_ last name." Jack's humor faded in an instant and his eyes turned black at Daniel.

"Guys, I think we can finish this later." He indicated to the two still seated at the table.

Vala grimaced, patted Daniel on the arm and began to leave, waiting for Teal'c to follow.

"O'Neill, Daniel Jackson did not act alone in…"

"Out!" Jack ordered. Teal'c bowed and Vala took the crook of his arm as the two made their way out of the line of fire as quickly as they could.

"So," Daniel began when they were gone. "Let me guess, you did the math, you thought about it…or someone just…slipped?" Daniel didn't seem the least bit apologetic. In fact, he seemed down right sardonic.

"She slipped."

Daniel flushed. "You talked to her?"

"Yes, Daniel, I talked to her." He pointed at Daniel's face. "Of course, she doesn't suspect a damn thing."

"Suspect?"

"Daniel…that is Sam's daughter, I'd stake my life on it, but those aren't Sam's eyes. And they sure as _hell_ aren't yours."

"No, those would be her biological father's eyes." Daniel replied dryly. "Or should I say, _your_ eyes?"

He had known the second she had looked up from that picture, but hearing it was something completely different.

Before he could say anything else, Daniel cut him off. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what? Who her father is?"

"I'm her father!" Daniel barked back and hit the table with his hand.

"Like hell you are!" Jack headed around the table to the side where Daniel was.

"She is mine!" Daniel stood his ground. "She's been mine since the day after she was born." He was calmer now. "Sam asked me to raise her. And Jack, you were both dead as far as we knew."

"That doesn't matter. She thinks that you're her father!"

"Jack…I am her father. I fed her and changed her when she was a baby. I held her when she was crying. I taught her how to tie her shoes. I was there. I know her. I was her father, and I still am."

Jack gritted his teeth and looked away before turning back.

"You're not taking her away from me." Daniel warned.

"Excuse me?" Jack questioned roughly.

"You. Are not. Taking my daughter from me." He repeated plainly. "I never thought I'd have to say it. I never thought this would actually happen. No matter how much I feared it, I never thought it would happen. But I knew one thing. I won't give her up."

"I want to know how you could dangle her in front of me like that, Daniel. You're supposed to be my friend. I lost my…I lost Sam, and that girl is all I have left of her, and you didn't even have the decency to tell me!"

"I didn't want to make it worse, Jack. I was going to tell you."

"Like you were going to tell her?!"

"I will tell Katie who her real father is when the time is right." The two men were within striking range of one another, but words seemed to be enough damage to cause to one another at the moment.

"Say it."

"Say what, Jack?"

"I want to hear you say who that little girl's family _really_ is."

"I'm her family Jack. Only as far as DNA is concerned, is Katie your daughter."

"Who's his daughter?"

Both men quickly turned in shock to the figure that had appeared at the head of the stairwell leading to the briefing room.

"Dad?" Her face was filled with fear and worry. Neither knew how much she had heard, but it had to have been enough for her eyes to look that way.

"Katie, honey what are you doing up here?"

"I wanted to ask Jack about the picture…" She turned her gaze from Daniel to Jack. The SF who had escorted her was hovering down the stairwell. Daniel didn't need his years of time with her to see the realization dawn on her face when she really looked into Jack's eyes. He saw her lip tremble, and her breathing falter as her rib cage jerked. "Dad…why did you just say that?"

Daniel didn't reply. Not at first He walked over to the other side of the room where she was and cast an angry glance back at Jack. "Sweetheart, what did you hear?"

"Enough." She whispered.

"Katie, I love you more than anything on this earth or any other…"

"Who is he?" she interrupted, turning towards Jack who stood with his mouth agape.

It seemed like Daniel stood there for an hour with his eyes pressed tightly shut before he bit the bullet. "He's your father."

"No he's not. Why are you saying that?"

"Because, it's the truth. Your mother thought he was dead…we all did. And when she got sick, she made me promise to take care of you and raise you like you were my own, and I did."

"NO!"

"Katie." Daniel reached for her hands but she pulled them back as fast as she could. Her finger rose to his face.

"No! You. You are my father. I…I have your…" She fumbled. "I'm good at languages…I got that from you…you're my father…he's just…"

"Katie, look at me." The girl began shaking her head, strands of hair falling out of their binding and tears welling in her eyes that were now fighting to stay open as her nose rose over barred teeth. "Katie…" Daniel put his hands on either of her cheeks. "Sweetheart, I want you too look at my eyes. Okay?"

She shut her eyes own fiercely in protest.

"Katie. Please don't do this."

"I'm not doing this…" She sobbed. "You are…stop!" She was screaming as she sank to the floor.

Daniel crouched down and reached his arms around her. Her body was racked with a grief he couldn't bare to think of. He had known his parents before they died and he had been raised by strangers. But Katie had been his, she never knew any better, and perhaps it was too much for her to handle.

"He's…not…I don't believe you…"

Jack stood at a distance watching the event unfold. She was his daughter. But how? Jack hurt even more than before now. He'd found out he had a child with Sam. But that child was practically a woman. She'd never known him. Never known his name or his face, or the love he had for her even when he didn't know she existed. But it was quite obvious that she did not feel the same for him.

"Katie. I should have told you a long time ago, as soon as you were old enough to understand. But I wanted to protect you…from all of this." She sobbed a bit more quietly. Jack watched as her posture became more ridged. "The truth is…I was being selfish…I wanted to be your dad. After everything that happened…you were the only thing I had left."

"You ARE my dad…stop saying that…" She pushed away, a look of bewilderment still swirling on her face as she tried to stand and back away from Daniel, tripping slightly as she got her footing.

"Katie…I know I raised you, but you're a big girl…Katie, I don't know what else to say. I'd say I was sorry I didn't tell you but I'm not. I never wanted to tell you."

"So why did you?" She coughed and looked up for the first time, redness growing around her brown eyes and a flush growing redder in her cheeks.

Daniel was standing again as well. "Because he deserves to know." The brief stare he showed Jack was an admittance that he should have told him sooner. An apology of sorts that Jack may or may not accept.

"And I didn't?" She growled.

"I did it for you…" Daniel's words were cut short; he reached up to his face where it suddenly stung. The slap echoed in the room and Jack stood startled by the transaction. Katie stood shaking, either from sadness of fury it was hard to tell, but her hand was still out from where it had crossed Daniel's face, and it was shaking too.

**A/N: So…check this, I've got the next chapter absolutely done. And I'm going to hold it ransom…'cause…well….I'm feeling a bit mischievous. So, since there is no money involved, can you guess what the price is??? You got it! Please review! And it won't take too many since I've been WAITING for the login to work again soooo long haha! :D**

**Reviews are like ransom, just in case you didn't get that, lol! :D **


	18. My Life is a Lie

**My Life is a Lie**

My hand stings and I pull it back towards myself slowly. The look on my father's face hurts worse than my hand. Maybe I should just call him Daniel. He isn't my father. He's been lying to me. My whole life, he's been letting me believe.

His perturbed face purses. "Katie…"

"Is that even my real name?" I shoot back before he can correct me. Slapping him was not the best idea, and I knew it when I swung, but I'm not taking it back. Not now. I think I'm entitled to be a little outraged. Finding out that the man I just met is my real father, and that _Dad_ has been pretending all this time was the biggest slap in the face anyone could ever get. And now that damn ringing is back in my ear again.

I watch my dad straighten up, and out of the corner I can see Jack, my father, crane his head. Apparently he wants to know too.

"Your mother named you Katherine; before you were even born." He turned his head towards Jack. "But no, I guess you're not Katie Jackson so much as you're Katie O'Neill, even if it says Carter on your legal birth certificate. Oh, and while we're at it, your middle name wasn't actually Samantha either. I gave you that name because Sam hadn't chosen one yet. She was stuck between Jacqueline and Janet."

"Daniel…" Jack's voice breaks into the tirade, more peacefully than I would have thought possible for this man, especially in this mess.

"What!?" I flinch as he receives his reply, but not much.

"Maybe this isn't the best way to…"

"Oh, and what are you, 'father of the year' now? You don't know what this has been like!"

Jack turns a bit red, puffs up, and makes his way over toward us. "Don't forget I was a father, Daniel." He's pointing at Dad's chest. "I raised my son, and if I had been here…"

"You weren't!" Dad's hands are flying in the air. "Don't you get it? You were gone, Sam was gone…"

Dad's holding his head down and Jack looks almost sheepish. He has a son. Charlie. I have a brother? Had? It's now that I realize they've forgotten I'm even in the room. I'm the living pink elephant. The thing everyone has been dancing around for years. And now they're dancing around me again and I'm right here. I want out. I take a step back, then another. They've started talking about something again. Their words are less harsh, like they're coming to an agreement, but I'm having trouble hearing what it is over this blasted ringing in my ears. I stick both index fingers into my ear canals and it does little more than muffle the outside noise but it helps as I turn on my heels and break for the stairwell. I see Teal'c at the base of the stairs as I make it to one of the concrete corridors, pull my hands down and sprint in the other direction. He calls my name and I don't stop. I hear Jack's voice call to him but I'm already turning a corner.

* * *

I'm sure they know where I am. There are cameras all over this place; not to mention more SFs than the Air Force can possibly afford. Maybe they got a clue and realized I want some time to myself.

My name is not Katie Jackson.

"I'm Katie O'Neill." I say aloud. It sounds wrong and I bite my bottom lip back. My head is killing me and this ringing will not stop. I'm in the little library where I found the space where my mother's book once was. It still isn't here; I checked as I came in.

God, this pain in my head is unreal and I push my head back into the book shelf behind me. I think it must be the stress. This is a lot to take in. Am I still me?

Images are flashing through my head of a completely different life. Jack is where Dad was. Dad…why I slapped him I still don't know…I shouldn't have…he's just a friend of the family's. And mom…with her blue eyes...that's what was wrong with the picture, it was so small, now I realize.

Great, I've cried so much my nose has started running. The warmness gives way to chill as the air hits the liquid running out and towards my lips. I reach up quickly to wipe it away on the back of my hand. As I set my hand down in my lap I see it. Bright red, and lots of it. I reach up to my nose again with the same hand. This time my fingertips come back red as well. I've got a nose bleed. Terrific. I've never had a nose bleed. Not sure exactly how they work, but this one's not stopping. I stand up and a rush of dizziness comes over me so rapidly that I have to reach out for the bookshelf before I fall back down. My vision fades to a pinpoint for a second before the black recedes but stars are still all over. Maybe going into a room by myself wasn't such a good idea. Vala. She's around. She'll let me stay with her until I can figure this out.

I head towards the exit, steadying myself against the book shelves. This dizzy wave isn't going away. In fact it's getting much worse. The door's close though. But not close enough. I feel my knees go to jelly and I fall on them hard. Something hits me in the head and back, and I see the books around me where I must have reached to grab hold of the shelf and missed. I give a harsh cough, and blood droplets spray the floor. They seem to be getting closer as my sight fades again...

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**A/N: 3 more chapters!!!**

**Reviews are like doors, each one can lead to something new.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Katie?" Vala's voice followed around the door of the library as she peered in. "Katie, darling, are you in here?" The question was followed by a sharp inhale. "Katie!"

Vala rushed into the room when she saw the glint of blond hair strewn on the ground, peering around a book shelf. The pool of blood around her unconscious face made the sight all the more horrific. Vala was scared to reach down, scared to know. When she did allow her fingers to trail to the girl's throat she found a weak and threading pulse. "Katie…Katie?" She ran her fingers through Katie's hair but there was no response, no voice and no reaction to her hand that was far cooler than the fever that seemed to be radiating off of the girl's body.

Vala stood as quickly as she could and ran to the hallway. "Someone! I need help in here!" A prayer of sorts garnered the best possible response, somewhere between irony and fate, Teal'c appeared around the corner.

"What is the matter, Vala Mal Doran?"

"Teal'c, quick…Katie…she's in here!"

Vala's panic made even Teal'c stomach summersault and he hastened his pace into the small library, finding the girl in the same place as Vala had, and cringing internally at the sight of the blood that had pooled from her nose.

"I found her like this…Teal'c quick, we need to get her to the infirmary."

"Indeed." Teal'c replied as he scooped the girl in his arms, a little more difficult of a task than it had once been.

* * *

"What's going on? Where is she?" Daniel bellowed before he had even made it through the infirmary doors.

"Dr. Jackson, please calm down." One of the doctors insisted. He wasn't sure which one it was, he honestly didn't even care. He'd heard just enough to make him panic to that point.

"I'll calm down when someone tells me where my daughter is!" Beside Daniel, Jack restrained an eye roll from his side.

"Where is she, Doc?" Jack growled before the man even had a chance to answer.

"Both of you gentlemen are going to need to calm down before I'll tell you anything. There are a lot of sick people in here, and Katie is one of them." The doctor gave himself a second to breath. "Now, if you're both willing to calm down, you can come with me and I'll explain."

Both men nodded in unison.

"Can you at least tell us what is going on?" Jack pressed as soon as they came to the door of one of the private rooms.

The doctor hesitated with his hand on the knob. "Vala and Teal'c found her in the library apparently. She's lost a lot of blood…internal bleeding and such…" The look on Daniel's face made the doctor's own stomach fall. Jack looked as if he was going to be ill as well. "I have to warn you, she doesn't look good…and that's because it's not. She's gone down hill more quickly than any other person we've seen contract this plague. I can't explain it." He seemed ashamed of himself, unable to explain the circumstances of only one patient when so many were already lost. Not for a lack of trying, they had all been working so hard.

Daniel swallowed hard. "How long?"

"What the hell kind of question is that!?" Jack barked.

The now older Daniel turned glassy eyed towards his old friend. "Shut up, Jack."

In one of the rarest occasions, Jack bit his tongue.

The doctor waited for Daniel to turn back towards him. "Hours, maybe a day at the most." He turned the door handle with hesitation as the father of his patient collected himself, preparing for something he would never be ready for. He had no idea the connection between the man only a step behind, the one who would soon have a responsibility before him he was never ready for.

"One at a time." The doctor said to Jack, and Daniel didn't even look back as he went in to see his daughter. The doctor leaned in first and indicated with a nod of his head for someone inside the room to exit. Daniel could see little for the door frame in his way, but what he could see was a seated Vala, tired and drained, leaning in against the hospital bed inside the room. Her hands were stretched up, no doubt holding Katie's hand. Seeing Daniel she leaned forward, head out of view, placing a small kiss in the girl's hair. She held her composure until she reached Daniel, and tears began to pour over and trail down her face. She took Daniel's face in her hands and kissed his cheek, whispering something in his ear as she refrained from taking what little time he may have left with his child. She remained outside with O'Neill and the doctor.

The click of the door took Daniel to another place. Somewhere he had never wished to be. The sight of Katie lying unconscious in the bed was even worse than he had imagined, if one could imagine their child in such a situation. Her usually glowing tan skin was sallow. As he moved to the side of her bed he got a clearer view of her face under the oxygen tube placed in her nose. A small trickle of blood had formed again, caking in her nostril, bringing out the purple and blue that was deepening around her eyes. Her hair was combed out but the sweat from the fever that was blistering her cheeks kept it damp and sticky against the sides of her neck and at her temples. Daniel gently sat on the side of the small hospital bed, careful not to tamper with any of the many wires and tubes coming from her arms and under her hospital gown.

"Katie?" He whispered. He knew she would probably not answer, but he tried, so desperate for a reaction. And somewhere his mind he continued to imagine a miraculous recovery, her eyes opening for just a moment and smiling back at him.

He leaned forward, studying her withering features, "Baby girl, I am so sorry…" The words were stumbled over as he began to sob. This was his daughter, his best friend, and the one person who had stood beside him for the past eighteen years. It was his responsibility to take care of her. He had promised Sam. He had promised himself. He leaned over her body to hold her close though careful not to hurt her any more than he knew she was hurting inside, realizing just how dangerously high her fever was, knowing that brain damage was imminent if there was any chance of survival at all. He couldn't lose her too. "Your dad's gonna make it alright. I'm gonna make it better, I swear."

As he said the words, Katie's body began to twitch and a ragged wheezing sound escaped her throat, though her lips never parted.

"Katie?" Daniel jerked back. "Sweetheart? Look at me."

But the twitching converged into a cringe as her body began to curl up on the bed, teeth bearing from the great pain that was ripping through her. Her eyes squinted more tightly shut. The machines in the room began to ping and beep and scream. Daniel found himself doing the same.

"Doctor!"

As soon as the word escaped his mouth the man was in the room, an anxious Jack and Vala peering in behind him as a nurse also hurried by them.

"She just, I hugged her and…I think I hurt her." Daniel couldn't bear the thought.

The doctor shook his head, and the nurse wiped the girl's sweat from her brow before adjusting a drip and heading back out.

"It was nothing you did Dr. Jackson. The pain medication level wasn't high enough any more. If she wasn't on the drip, she may be aware enough to respond, but she'd be in so much agony…it just wouldn't be humane." He hung his head and headed back towards the door. "She can probably hear you though…" He added as he left, hoping it gave the man some comfort. He had children himself. He couldn't imagine what this man was going through. He didn't want to.

Daniel emerged from the room a half an hour later. Neither Jack nor Vala had left, and they were now accompanied by Teal'c as well. Apparently Mitchell had made an appearance but a surge in victims off-world had called his attention away for the moment. "If you're going to say…goodbye…" Daniel choked. "Now's the time." He rushed from the room, Vala quickly behind him. Jack's actions said that he wanted to go with his friend, be there for him, but something in the small infirmary room that he himself had occupied on an occasion or more begged him to stay.

"Teal'c…you want to go first?"

The old Jaffa bowed silently, acknowledging that Jack would probably be taking longer than he, and proceeded to the girl's side.

* * *

"Daniel, where are you going?" Vala begged as she tried to catch him in the hallway.

"Vala, I'll be right back…" He lied dryly.

"Daniel, your daughter is _dying_, where are you going?!" She screamed, a few people in the hall stopping, staring awkwardly and then rushing away.

Daniel stormed back towards Vala, and she steadied herself for another tirade of angry words, she was shocked as he pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I should have gone with you. We should have gone. This is my fault."

"Daniel, this isn't your fault, the plague just…"

"She had it before. It was in her, dormant." He pulled Vala back and stared transfixed in her eyes. "Sam died...sacraficed herself... to stop it from spreading and killing Katie, but it apparently didn't leave her. If we had gone with you, we'd be too far away, she'd be fine!"

"Daniel…" Vala was shaking her head, not expecting him to place a desperate kiss on her lips before pushing her away and moving as quickly down the hall as he could.

He turned at the corner. "Watch after her…she'll need someone to explain, and to love. I can't think of anyone better to help Jack."

She knew better than to follow him. It was useless. Daniel's mind was made, more fervently than she had ever known it to be in all the years she had known him. When she made it back to the infirmary, Teal'c and Jack had just traded places.

"Where is Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c inquired.

"He's going to face some demons." Vala muttered as she sat in one of the waiting seats. Teal'c looked quickly and with great concern to the door, but before he took a step, he reminded himself, as a father, he would do the same, and so he sat, holding Vala's hand and waiting.

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are like food, and I'm starving! Sorry for the long hiatus! But….here we go again :D**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Well, this is…I really don't know what to say. The doc says you may be able to hear us, I hope he's right. There's a lot I'd like to say…but…maybe I should start of by saying I'm not too good with words. Your mom was use to that." A small chuckle escaped Jack's lips and turned into a sound a grown man often hides when emotions overcome them, especially a military man. "God, I never even knew you existed."

Jack stared down from his standing position at the body of a girl he didn't know. The exception was that everything about her screamed that he did. Her eyes, hidden under swollen and discolored lids he knew to be his own. The blond hair trailing around her face was that of her mother, the woman he loved and had lost without even knowing it. She was theirs in ever sense except for the one that really seemed to matter at this precise moment. In that way, she was Daniel's. He was the one who knew her, who she was, what she liked and disliked, what made her laugh and what made her cry. But Jack knew in his heart, that despite that, he still loved his daughter, and he was determined that she know this fact.

He reached his hand out towards hers. It was bruised and twisted with i.v. needles. His fingers gave hers a light pressure to no response. "Hey kiddo." He breathed. "That's what Jacob use to call your mom. You would have called him Grandpa if he'd made it…" Jack winced. "Please hang in there. I love you so much, I don't even know you really, but I know that."

Jack pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and took Katie's fragile hand once more. He never let it go, not even when he fell asleep waiting for Daniel to come back and take what Jack supposed was his rightful place at her side in these last moments. But Daniel never came.

"Sir!" Jack was stirred by a rough hand on his shoulder and a gruff whisper. "General wake up."

"What…where's Katie!?" Jack sat forward with a start and realized he still had the girl's hand, and that it was still feverish. Sadly a good sign in this case. It meant she was still alive, though she looked as far gone as when he had been standing over her. But how long had he been asleep? The ragged breaths she had been taking somehow had lulled him to sleep, but he shouldn't have been there that long. Daniel should have come back and taken his place.

"Sir, I need you to come with me, now." Jack finally realized the voice was that of Cameron Mitchell.

"Mitchell, what are you doing in here?"

"Jack. Now."

Jack's face fell slack. "What happened?"

"Jackson's gone and done it." Mitchell replied with a sense of irony and dread all mixed into one.

Not knowing exactly how to go about it, Jack leaned forward and kissed Katie's hand before letting it down gently beside her on the bed. He didn't notice the flutter of her eyelashes as he was leaving and a nurse took his position.

"What did Daniel do?" Jack repeated when they had gotten out of Katie's hospital room. But he didn't really need to hear the words. He saw Vala, wrapped in Teal'c strong and supportive arms.

"Shouldn't have given him back all that security clearance. He walked right through the Stargate and up to that damn thing. He was there one second and gone the next. Knew exactly what he was doing."

"Damn it Daniel." Jack cursed aloud. 'It should have been me' was the thought that crossed his mind next.

"Sir, look around." Jack's piercing gaze bored into Mitchell before he took a new assessment of the infirmary. Patients who had been in conditions similar to Katie's were sitting up in their cots. Others were already on their feet. The elation on the doctors' faces was clear.

"That fast?"

"For some…" Teal'c interjected. "For others it may have been too late. We will be required to wait and see." His gaze returned to the door blocking Katie from their view.

"It didn't take this long last time." Vala added, her voice muffled against Teal'c still.

Jack scrubbed his face. His friend had just given his own life to save Katie and now she may not even make it. He prayed that the sacrifice had not been in vain.

"It's closed. Shut down." Mitchell added. "Nothing even remote showing up on scans. The Box is…dead." He took a deep breath and looked towards Teal'c and Vala. Teal'c nodded in acknowledgement. "There's one more thing, sir."

* * *

The first thought that crossed Jack's mind as he entered the debriefing room was that he should have seen this coming. He should have seen a lot of things coming. "Obviously we haven't had time to explain anything." Cameron muttered over his shoulder at the entrance. "I'll trust you to be the right man for this job. I've got a lot to deal with right now. Any news on Katie and you'll be the first to know." Jack just nodded. His gaze was stolen by the woman sitting rigid and staring down at the table.

She was dead. She wasn't coming back. But here she was. "Sam…" Jack felt sick to his stomach at the elation he got as her blue eyes nervously flittered in his direction, followed by the face that he realized more than ever was almost identical to Katie's. He shouldn't be happy. He shouldn't get any sense of relief. Daniel was gone now. Just like she had been. And their daughter could be gone at any time. Their daughter…

"Jack!" Sam's chair was pushed back as she stood in shock of the man before her. "How did you…" But she was cut off when he began to crush her in his arms. Her own arms returned the pressure when she realized that he wasn't some dream that she had had for months on end, praying to whoever would listen that he would be returned.

"How did they get us out so quickly?" It felt quick. She had just pressed the combination and given her life to the Box, saved so many others all for the sake of one. She had heard the names Mitchell, Walter and even Dr. Jackson. Surely not too much time had passed.

"It's been a little longer than we look." Jack tried to explain when he finally felt confident enough that she wouldn't disappear if he let go. He ran his hand through the air in front of his face to illustrate what he meant but he knew it wasn't enough.

"Is she okay?" She finally asked. She'd been asking it since she realized where she was. An uninformed member of the off-world team had said the infected were recovering all across the galaxy. Another member of the medical staff had mentioned that Katie was in the infirmary still. They hadn't mentioned one important fact though. And besides, she hadn't really been listening in such a situation. Recovering and Katie in the same subject base was enough to keep her hope alive. And they wouldn't have brought her out just to watch her baby die.

Jack's mouth went flat. "Katie's in the infirmary still. We should get down there." And for the first time in Cheyenne Mountain, he took her hand and led the way.

The sight of Teal'c should have been a clue. But he didn't age like humans did. And she was too caught up. A brief hug for which she never really stopped didn't alert her to the difference in his appearance. "Where's the baby?"

Teal'c took and uncomfortable breath and looked Jack dead in the face. "Your daughter is in this room." He indicated the private area to which Sam made her way quickly, not catching the exchange of words between the two men. "O'Neill, she has regained consciousness…but nothing has been said."

"We'll take care of it." He hated himself for smiling at the knowledge that she had awoken. Daniel was gone. More importantly he had to stop Sam before she went in, and he caught her wrist just in time. "Sam. Wait."

"I want to see her!" She argued before he could say anything. "Jack, she's our daughter…"

"I know, Sam. Daniel told me. But there's something you need to know before you go in there."

"Jack, if you're upset with me, I'm sorry, I didn't know until you were gone…" her eyes were welling with tears, a plea to just let her finish opening the door.

"Why would I be mad? Sam…We just need you to understand that…"

He was interrupted by the door to Katie's room squealing open, and Vala running into Sam on her way out.

"I can't tell her…" Vala said, shaking her head, expecting Teal'c to be waiting. Then she realized that it wasn't the emotion of losing Daniel again that caused her to be stopped in her tracks, but the face of a dead woman. "Oh my God…Samantha…"

Sam's wide blue eyes grew even wider, and the whites around glistened in the stark infirmary lighting. "Vala…?" It was enough. Vala was older, so much older. Her skin was loser, her hair grayed and simple. Time. She grabbed the door, all the while Jack was trying to take her by the elbow to give her a minute to think, a way to explain, but there were no words, only images, and nothing was appropriate to prepare Sam Carter for the sight of the child she had died for, sitting propped on pillows, still sallow and bruised and attached to a monitor or two, and eighteen years older than when she had kissed her goodbye.

The door had alerted Katie to someone entering. She saw Jack first, perhaps from recognition, but more so because she never expected to see an aged image of herself with blue eyes staring back agape. "Mom…"

"Oh God…how long?" A question Sam didn't mean to ask aloud but couldn't help. Somehow it was morbid, and somehow it was right.

"Jack?" Katie looked towards him confused and weak.

He took Sam's hand and led her in, all the while she was shaking her head no, this couldn't be. She couldn't have been gone long enough for the baby she had only held for a day to be a woman. It wasn't possible.

"Sam…this is Katie." Sam was still shocked. "Honey look at her." Her pressed quietly. Sam knew it though. She'd known it from the moment their eyes had locked on one another. Known it from the way she resembled her, and her own mother.

"Katherine!" Sam exclaimed with a choking smile. She reached out slowly to give the girl time to adjust. Katie just stared at her in amazement until Sam took her in her arms. She held her back as tightly as she could and Sam could tell that she was still weak. And then she heard her ask a question that she didn't know the answer to.

"Jack, where's my dad?"

_'…where's my dad?'_, Sam thought. He's right there. You just spoke to him.

Jack knew what was going on though. He didn't want to be the one to say it. Didn't know how. "He…sweetheart, Daniel's gone."

Sam felt Katie's fingers dig into her back ribs. Daniel was gone. Daniel was gone? She turned her head back while still holding the girl. "Jack, what's going on…"

Katie had released her now. Sam felt her still holding one arm but she was trying desperately to see around her. "Jack, where is he?!"

"Katie, he's gone, he did it to save you…"

"What are you talking about, where's my dad!?" She was pulling the last of her monitor wires off and the machines were belching in protest. Then she tried to get up but Jack was at her side along with Sam, trying to keep her calm, or at least seated, but she was pushing as hard as she could, no match for the two of them, even if she had not been in her weakened condition. "Jack, he can't…"

O'Neill took her face in his hands. "Katie, look at me. Daniel did this for you. He didn't want you to suffer. He didn't want to see you die. He saved you…and your mother." He explained, looking towards Sam who was realizing she had lost another friend on top of all those years of her daughter's life. Daniel had become her father. He had raised her like she'd asked…but this was too much to take in at once.

"He can't…I have to apologize…I said those things…I slapped…oh God, what did I do…" Katie began to cough from the outburst but it quickly cleared to a catatonic kind of stare somewhere in front of her face as she leaned back into her pillows finally.

"Katie…" Sam reached out and rubbed the side of her face.

"Can you leave me alone please?" She requested in a monotone.

"Katie, we just want to…" Jack began.

"Get out."

Sam bit her tongue and tasted salt fill her mouth. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as those two words. As badly as time.

Jack took Sam's arm and led her out, they both glanced back to see a stare like Jack O'Neill on his worst day, eyes locked in space and jaw clenched so tightly it should crack. The tears running down her face made her cheeks sparkle and landed in little splatters on her hospital gown before bleeding out into gray splotches. She was broken.

Katie refused to speak, eat, or move for five days. The doctors had to put her back on i.v.s for fluids and nutrition. She wouldn't answer Jack. Teal'c knew better than to try. Sam took up watching over her for each of the fourteen hours she was sleeping. Vala was even more bold, coming in for an hour at a time and talking about adventures with Daniel. She got the most reaction, a single tear that fell one day when she talked about Daniel being there for her when she lost Adria.

On the sixth day, Vala overheard Sam talking to Jack. Katie had woken up when she was watching over her, and actually given a meek smile before turning in the other direction. Vala took a chance and went into the infirmary. She found Katie sitting up, her hand at the side of her head, tracing her ear and then sliding over the corner of her nose.

"I was wondering if you were going to start missing those." Vala stated with an attempt at being chipper. It was hard to do when she'd been crying herself to sleep every night.

Katie quickly tucked her hand back under the covers and looked straight ahead. Vala walked up to the side of the bed, reached down into a deep pocket in her dress and pulled out a fist that clinked. She opened her hand palm up to reveal the jewelry that the nurses had removed. The girl bit her bottom lip in thought, then delicately scooped the gems and trinkets into her own hand, spreading them across her blanket covered lap. "Thank you." She whispered.

She looked at each piece, running her fingers over them, and Vala could tell she was pulling memories, mostly likely involving Daniel, from each one. She did not press on the subject. "Those are the first words you've said in almost a week. How are you feeling?"

Katie picked out an earring and counted out the tough spots in her ears until she found the right piercing. "Physically…tired. But I'm pretty much back to normal."

Vala sighed and lifted the skirts of her dress a bit before seating herself at the foot of the bed. "How about the other way?"

Katie placed a couple of small hoops and another stud before responding, and this time she made eye contact. "I wish it had been me."

"No, darling, don't wish that." Vala soothed. "Daniel, your father, he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if anything had happened to you."

Katie's nose flared and she roughly plucked another stud from the pile. "He's not living at all now. He's in some damn Box…forever?" Her eyes begged for another possible outcome.

"Katie, its been shut down, there's no other way to…sweetheart if there was anyway…anyway at all…"

"There has to be a way." Her voice was a harsh and loud whisper. "After everything…if my mother came back, so can he." Her eyes were dry. She was hoping against all hope, but her emotions were becoming cracked with wear.

"Speaking of your mother." Vala shifted tracks. "She's been in here more than anyone else, and yet you haven't even spoken to her."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Vala leaned her head with understanding. "I know its difficult Katherine, but you know it is hard for her too. In her mind you're only six days old. No matter what a beautiful young woman you are sitting here, filling your ears and now your nose with shiny baubles, you're still her tiny daughter that she said goodbye to as an infant."

Katie pushed the fishhook of her nose stud through the little dent of her nostril and twitched it the rest of the way in place as Vala winced and looked away. "What about my dad? Not Jack, my dad. I never should have said…I was angry and stupid." She was growling the words, so fully of hate towards her own actions.

"Katherine you have to stop this. Punishing yourself isn't going to make this easier, on any of us. We all have to heal, together." Vala was tearing up. Had they only worked together the first time Pandora's Box had torn them apart, things wouldn't be working out this way now.

"How is it I have my mother now, and even my biological father, and yet I still feel like an orphan?" She wasn't catching everything, because her mind was so set on what she had lost.

"Talk to them." Vala pressed.

Katie licked her lips and hung her head, her blond strands covering her face and tracing the white sheets below. "Just give me a little more time. I just need a little time to think. Please."

She felt the bed shift as Vala stood. "Alright. But I'm sure you realize now more than ever, that so much can change in the briefest moment." Katie never looked up as Vala exited. She was hiding her tears and muffling her sobbing as she bit deeply into her bottom lip.

* * *

The pounding on the door had woken Sam too, but it was Jack who had answered the door. His voice was filled with concern and Sam lifted her head to see who had come to the door, and was caught off guard.

"Katie, why aren't you in the infirmary…?" Jack had started, but the girl pushed past him and straight towards the bed where Sam was now quickly sitting up.

"How close were you? To figuring something out? There had to have been another way."

Sam's brow was furrowed with sleep and confusion from this sudden tirade. She'd been dreaming about Katie coming to see her, but when the girl had appeared in the flesh she was still wondering if she was really there. "Katie, there was no other way…"

"There is always another way!" She replied sharply. "There just wasn't time. Now there's time. How do we get my father back?"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Katie is being so mean. I know, I wrote it. But remember the first...second...okay maybe the third time Daniel died. You know, the one where he joined the Oma Club? Well, remember Jack was being PMSish too, esp. to Carter. Consider it a genetic trait :) Reviews are like homemade ice cream, my dog Scully tried to steal it and I loved it so much I still ate it. So, please, review! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Look, Katie, I know this is hard to accept, but the decision has been made." Mitchell stared down the long debriefing table to the girl sitting at the far opposite end. Daniel had apparently taught her well about how to make her presence known. From her seat, she could see everyone at the table, and stare them down with equal ease.

"General Mitchell, it's not hard to accept because it's downright unacceptable. You cannot leave my dad in that thing!"

"Katherine, darling, please try to understand. None of us wanted this." Vala tried to sooth her. She was closest to the girl in more than one way. The others, other than Jack, were still trying to figure out why Sam was keeping her distance. Jack knew though. After hearing Katie beg her to find a way to release Daniel, Sam had truly realized that the child she had given birth to what felt like mere days ago was not the same. She was grown, and nearly a woman. A woman that Sam did not know no matter how much she loved her.

Katie turned towards Vala with a stubborn gleam matched by the shine of her nose ring. "I'm not leaving him."

"Sounds like the old family spirit there." Jack mumbled to himself. Sam steeled her gaze at him before looking towards Cameron.

"Look, no matter how much we debate this, the fact is going to remain that the only way to get Daniel back is to put someone else in in his place." It was an exasperated plea. Sam knew better than anyone else that there was no other way. She had made the choice for herself. If anyone understood the finality of Daniel's choice, it was her. She knew why he did it. And she knew that he understood there was no way back. She had thought the same for herself when she had made the identical choice. "And even if we found someone else to take his place, we could not be sure that the cycle would not just restart."

"We have to try." Katie pleaded.

Teal'c allowed his silence to pass. "Katie Jackson is correct. We must at least consider some option to rescue Daniel Jackson."

"Thank you, Teal'c." Katie whispered in his direction. Teal'c bowed slightly.

"The issue is moot." Mitchell started. "Pandora's Box is closed. To get Daniel out, we have to put someone else in. We know that. But what we don't know is if it would be shut down, or who to trade him for, because with God as my witness, I'm not letting another member of the SGC die, even if it brings someone back."

"My father is not dead!" Katie banged her hand down on the table and stood.

"No he's not. But you still have one sitting right here." Mitchell pointed out. "I know you feel alone, but look around. Everyone at this table is here for you, including your parents. Daniel was a good father to you, but sweetheart you're going to have to let him go."

Katie's nostrils flared and she began to walk heatedly around the table. "This man." She pointed to Jack. "This man right here is not my father! I'm sorry, Jack. I really am. But I don't know you. And…Mom…I thought about you every day that I can remember. I tried to imagine you right down to your laugh. I had this picture in my head of a woman, but aside from physical characteristics…I got it wrong. I know you are my parents, biologically, and I love you both for that. But please, try to understand. Dad…Daniel was my father. He raised me. He's all I've ever known, and despite what you're trying to tell me, I can never let him go."

A tear ran down Sam's cheek, and Mitchell's cough showed how much more uncomfortable he had become. At the other end of the table both Vala and Teal'c were standing in support of Katie.

"Anyone owe us any favors lately?" Jack inquired.

Mitchell shook his head. "No one was able to help before. The science departments have figured all they could about the device. They could make it work based on what they know, but they don't have a full set of instructions to run on. The box itself was covered with inscriptions, and those change like those old Goa'uld tablets. I don't think Daniel even finished them."

"It's never been fully translated?" Katie practically gasped.

"Daniel gathered all the information he could on the Box. He figured out how it worked basically, and what made it stop. But he even admitted there was too much information to fully explore what it was capable of between cycles, or when activated in separate ways. The mission was to shut it down and save as many lives as possible. We did that. Jackson wanted to keep studying it after Carter was taken, but the government denied his request and had Pandora's Box returned to a watery grave. He picked up where he left off to no avail this time. Hence the part where your _father_ is gone."

"But there's more?"

"It's possible. But if Jackson didn't find it the first or second time, then I doubt anyone else can."

"You haven't given _this_ Jackson a crack at it though, now have you?"

* * *

Katie read the transcripts of Pandora's Box for forty-three hours before she took her first break. She refused to admit that there was little to go on. She also refused to give up. For every piece of information she went over, it seemed that there was a hundred times that amount lying beneath the alien technology's surface. So much that even her father had not been able to gather it all.

She woke on the ninth day with a start, remembering for the first time the Stargate trip that had brought her to this planet where she was kept under strict guard and with a few assistants to make sure that in her reading of the box she did not restart the plague, nor take her father's place (an option that many had believed she would not hesitate to take if given the chance). In fact, Katie was beginning to consider just that. She was running out of information to go through. The last few displays amounted to some sort of scientific jargon and applications that she could just not figure out. Somewhat ashamed for being happy at a reason to call upon her, Katie requested that Sam Carter be sent to Delphi to help her.

* * *

Sam Carter tentatively entered the tent flap of the large observatory that had been set up. In the middle of the room she saw Katie. Her hair was half up and half down, obviously a result of lack of sleep or care for anything other than the prints of the writings from Pandora's Box that laid out all around the ground, trapping her in the room as her mind was trapped in thought. A vision of a toddler surrounded by toys instead caught Sam by surprise and she had to suffer it until it passed before she spoke to the girl who was nearly a woman in front of her.

"Hello, Katie."

Katie dropped some of the papers in her hands as she turned. Gathering them in the air, and some from the ground, she responded with an awkward smile. "Hi…Sam…"

Sam's heart sank along with her gaze. Katie was quick to catch the look and understand its correlated emotion, after all, their faces were quite similar.

"Sorry…Jack just said that you were having a hard time with…hi Mom." The girl licked her lips in awkward frustration at the situation.

Sam faltered. "It's okay. You don't have to call me that. I know you're going through a lot right now, probably more than…"

"I want to." Katie cut her off in a strict no questions tone.

"Jack O'Neill just jumped out of your mouth." Sam quipped, trying desperately to lighten the mood as best she could in such a time.

"Apparently he's been doing that my whole life." The girl replied, stepping through the images on the ground. "Look, I hate to be rude, especially since we don't really know each other and I'm probably making the worst first impression ever, but I need your help with something."

Sam shook her head fervently. "No…sure, absolutely, anything, and you're not."

"I've been going over the translations of the readings from Pandora's Box. I've translated everything from scratch to remove any bias or prejudgment based on other people's assumptions…"

Sam's eyes grew wide. "You translated the whole thing?"

Katie huffed. "Well, almost. That's why I called you. There are three sections of something I can't make out. I mean, I know there are numbers mixed in…but that doesn't make any sense."

"Can I see?" Sam asked.

Katie searched out the necessary pages on the floor and handed them to Sam before racing over to a makeshift desk and retrieving a folder. "These are the originals…and these are the translations." She reported. "Does any of this make any sense to you?"

Sam wavered. "I'm not sure." She admitted.

"At first I thought it may have been some sort of binary code….but, these aren't ones and zeroes by far."

An impressed glance flittered on her face before Sam stared at the pages of translation for a long time, but it wasn't until she saw the images of the changing relieves of Pandora's Box that something struck in her memory. "I think I see where this is going…"

* * *

"It's a program!" Sam exclaimed at the briefing table. Katie was seated beside her, glowing with excitement and seeming more like her mother than ever as the two sat side by side. Had Daniel been there, he would have been astounded by how much deeper the connection seemed to grow within days.

"A program?" Mitchell replied.

Katie jumped in. "The Box is like a computer. These codes can reprogram it."

"You're telling me you figured out in about a week, what no one could figure out during two plagues?"

"The dialect the writings were in could have translated multiple ways, it's no wonder no one caught it before. It's crazy that I even caught it."

"But you did." Mitchell prodded.

"I had a good teacher." She replied bitterly. "And I'd like to get him out now if you don't mind."

"Katie, this is not to impugn against your character…but Sam, are you sure she isn't twisting this to get her way?"

Sam shot Katie a sympathetic glance before giving Cameron a you-should-know-better one. "She didn't know what she was looking at until I made the connection. She's not making this up. There is a way to reprogram the Box, without killing anyone. It's similar to the weapon found on Dakara. Basically, with a few hours work, we can change Pandora's Box in relatively the same way. It will take a sacrifice to free Daniel…but not a human one."

"Where's the catch?" Jack blurted as soon as he knew she was done.

Sam's features sagged. "It still requires a higher intelligence."

"So no cute little woodland creatures…."

"No." She shook her head.

"Well then…back to square one then…"

"We use a Goa'uld." Katie suggested coolly.

"Excuse me?" Jack looked at her like she had lost her mind, and was a little unsettled by the glare he received being one he usually only got in the mirror.

"It won't take the host, just the symbiote. Mom and I already talked it over."

"So how do we do that? Get a Goa'uld to go willingly into the box?" Vala questioned eagerly. She knew there had to be a way.

"Well…we lie." Sam suggested. "Set a trap so that a Goa'uld…preferably one without too much knowledge of their own history, at least this particular story, thinks it's something they want. They try to activate it, and shut themselves in. And so we don't take out the Tok'Ra, we'll set the program to close with one sacrifice."

"You can do that?" Mitchell said bewildered.

"It was in the text. This whole time. But it has to be activated before a cycle starts. We get one shot at this. And one shot only."

Mitchell huffed and stood. "Alright…get some targets in mind. I'm going to go call the president."

* * *

Two weeks passed.

One day to reprogram Pandora's Box.

Exactly thirteen days to find a suitable target, plant the seed in his head, and wait for him to arrive. Jack had made it clear that while he wasn't superstitious, the day count was somewhat disturbing.

They waited at the tree line, far away from the mock ruins that the archeology department had helped set up. The Goa'uld were ever so hard to come by after all these years. But every so often, a being of little or no power would try to gather their former glory. An offer like Pandora's Box, rumored under false intent by the SGC to be similar in power to the weapon of Dakara, was prime bait.

Katie was shocked they had allowed her to go, but she gave a convincing speech that should anything go wrong the text on the Box could change and she would be the only capable of a quick and accurate translation that could save many. A necessary lie.

She couldn't believe the patience of those around her. Though it took exactly twelve minutes and forty-two seconds for the trap to capture it's prey, it had felt like an eternity. But even that was only half the time it seemed to take for the Goa'uld's entourage to be neutralized and for her to run from the trees and throw her arms around Daniel when he appeared alongside the now bewildered but thankful host.

* * *

"I can't believe we're actually here." Katie gushed through chattering teeth.

"Well, I had a few favors to call in." Daniel admitted, blowing warm air on his gloved hands. The light show of the Aurora Borealis danced above them, one of God's greatest works of art. The color bounced on the snow around them as well. A helicopter would return in about half an hour to reclaim them. This was one last father-daughter moment that the two would share for some time. Life was calling, and for the first time, Daniel was willing to let some caution aside so that they could both move forward. But this was something he had always wanted to give his daughter, and now he could.

Daniel asked after a long moment of gazing had become long enough for the mind to be captured by one surreal sense that allowed the subconscious to bring up what was really bothering the person. "We going to be able to do this you think? You with college and me going off to advise Vala with her…presidency." The last word was still in a tone of disbelief. Katie's quick answer proved their approaching separation had been on her mind too.

"I think we both need this, as hard as it will be to start something this new. I mean, kids go off to school all the time. We're just going to be a few light years further apart than most families. But we both have some things we have to do still, and this is a good a chance as any. Besides, I'd like to see you keep smiling like you've been doing lately. It's a good look on you."

Daniel smothered a laugh. "You're right. Guess I didn't raise a half bad kid."

"I'm going to miss you Dr. Dad."

"I'll miss you more." Daniel smiled and gave a contented but forlorn sigh as he took in the majesty of the waves of color dancing in the sky above them.

"Dad?"

"Remember when they asked me to sign my real name in the elevator when we first got to the mountain?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "How could I forget?" That had been merely a small tear in the fabric of his great secret, but it had set him even further on edge.

"I signed the right name you know."

Daniel gave Katie a puzzled look that he had perfected long ago.

She smiled. "My name _is_ Katie Jackson."

Daniel grinned at his daughter and pulled her into a bear hug.

…**End…**

**Dedicated to all those parents who adopt children into their lives and love them as their own flesh and blood.**

**A/N: Thank you all for reading. This chapter will be followed by immediately by an Epilogue. Thank you also to all those who have reviewed. This story has received more reviews than any other I have ever written to this date and I am grateful to each and every one of you who have made this possible. I also have an announcement on my profile as to any future writings. **

**And here's one last metaphor for the road….Reviews are like readers, I'm thankful for each and every single one. **


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

I have to admit that this life I've got isn't anything like the one I envisioned. But then again, when does life ever turn out like we plan it? Plans, those beyond what to make for supper, those tend to get lost if we take our eyes off of what's important. I'm focused on my family now more than ever. Those I was born to, and those I found along the way.

My father, the Daniel one that is, finally got the life he deserved. He's sharing it with Vala after all these years. Not sure how he takes to having to follow her orders though. It is her world, quite literally, elections or not. According to his letters that I get from time to time, she's driving him insane. Guess she took up where I left off. He loves it. You can tell he's proud of her from the way he writes about it all. People still come to the planet after all these years. So many refugees from worlds that couldn't recuperate from the fall of the Goa'uld, those who were persecuted, or people looking for an honest new start all come to this one place out there where they can start over. Sounds like a familiar history story in a way.

Jack and Mom, they keep in touch too. Mom's a bit obsessive about it in fact. She gets me a new camera all the time so I can send pictures. I've been through three, though I haven't broken a single one, in a just over a year. Jack says she's making up for lost time. We didn't have too much together, just five months before the transcripts and tests went through and I made it into an archeology program that would set me off to being the second Dr. Jackson, archeologist. Living with them was great though. I could see what life would have been like if I had grown up in that house with them, and by the last few days it was like I had. But I realized even before that time together, that I'd never trade the time I had with my real dad, Daniel. No matter how strange and out of the ordinary a life it was, it was mine.

After that winter, which I remember most out of the seasons because of the Christmas extravaganza that beat anything I'd ever heard about in stories, I didn't see them in person for a while. Dad came back a few times over the months, and I even got a special privileged visit to Vala's world, known as _Valadonia _much to Dad's chagrin.

A few days ago I got to see Jack and Mom for the first time in about a year since I've been placed at the dig here in the Andes. Strange how I ended up back where I began. I have to admit, my stomach sank when I saw Colonel Davis appear on the tree line that evening. Didn't know if it was a bad dream or some cruel fate of reality telling me it had all been a dream. Instead, he smiled and I somehow felt a lot better. He said my father had requested I be brought back to Colorado for a visit. When I asked him which father, he simply stated that I would see.

I was met with a surprise at the airport: a sign saying 'Welcome Home Katie!' and one Daniel Jackson at one end and a Jack O'Neill at the other. I smiled at the thought of finally having a home to come to. One that I knew in my heart hadn't changed much, and for the most part I was right. Dad had stopped in for a short visit to see how things were going with my college studies and internship. Vala couldn't make it this time because of some legal dispute she was settling over water rights or some such thing that apparently no one solves better than she. Dad said not to worry, that she'd drag herself away in no more than a week, but the reason they'd called me could not wait that long.

Back at Jack and Mom's house I found out what they meant. I'm a sister! It's quite odd in fact, seeing as a few years ago I thought my mother was dead and my father was a hermit, not to mention my biological father. But there was my mother, holding a beautiful little boy.

"What's his name?" I asked.

Mom smiled. "Well, we figured he had to have the same name as his sister…so Katie, meet Jackson O'Neill."

I giggled profusely. Jack cut me off. "I know I know, he reprimanded. 'Jack's son' and originality and all."

"He's precious." I cooed as Mom put him in my arms and I saw two tiny brown eyes just like mine.

It was hard to finally let him go when I left a week later to get back to work. Vala had made an appearance just in time. I think she may have cracked a rib with one of those hugs.

So that's it. That's how the world ended. In this case, the world I knew. I went from having just a dad, to having two dads, two moms and even a baby brother. Life throws some curve balls, or 'Lord Ba'als' as Jack says. The ones we got just happened to be a bit…different.


End file.
